


Fate Goes Both Ways

by TheFairMaidenofFandom



Series: Marinette and the Batboys™ [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Confident Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, POV Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Post-Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, no beta we die like jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-01-08 02:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 26,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21228221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFairMaidenofFandom/pseuds/TheFairMaidenofFandom
Summary: Marinette has been left behind by her classmates. By Lila. When a family friend offers her an opportunity, she just can't say no. Now she's in Gotham, alone, with a dead cell phone. Maybe she'll meet a new friend. Or something more?In this story, Damian was dropped off with Bruce at about 7, so he wasn't as deeply trained with the mindset of an assassin. Characters are aged up, Damian at 17, and Marinette at 16, almost 17.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! I told you I would be continuing this series. The rest of the chapters will be longer than this one, I promise. The layout will be the main story, and then a bunch of oneshot spin-offs. This is, of course, the main story. I will try to update at least once a week, but I might do more, depending on when inspiration strikes. Thanks!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette meets two of Gotham's heroes. One of the bats is a fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told y'all I would be continuing this series! My plan is for this to be my main fic, and then add oneshots as I see fit. Anyway, read on!

Marinette was almost dancing on the way home from school. It was her last week of class for the school year! Next year she would go into her final year of Lyceé, and then she could graduate, and never have to see Lila again! Her outfit had changed about six months into Lila's reign. Now she wore a red windbreaker jacket that extended to her thigh, light blue jeans, and a black shirt with her hair down.

She didn't even bother to go into the bakery, but instead went through the side door. She made it halfway to the kitchen, before she turned around and ran to give hugs to Uncle Jagged and Aunt Penny, who were standing in the living room with their arms open. "I totally forgot you guys were coming!" She broke away to scratch the top of Fang's head. 

Penny decided to cut to the chase. "Marinette, we came here to see you, yes, but not just for a social call. We want to give you the chance to come on your with us for the summer. Jagged needs a new head seamstress for the summer, and apparently, no one else is 'rock-n-roll' enough."

"She's right Little Lady! No one gets me like you do!"

Marinette just stood there gawking at them, until she felt a punch from the inner pocket of her jacket, where Tikki was. She shook her head, and started rambling. "I would love that Uncle Jagged! But, I can't just leave Paris. I have to do other commissions, and I have to water my plants, and I have to be La- Um, I have commissions?"   
"We know Marinette, which is why we'd set you up with a new sewing machine, and whatever materials you'd need to do your work away from home. And I'm pretty sure your parents would be fine to water your plants. You would be leaving on Monday" Marinette subtly looked down inside of her jacket to see Tikki nodding firmly at her. 

The designer nodded and signed the paperwork. After dinner, she told them that she was tired and was going to bed. Then, she promptly started freaking out. 

"Tikki! I can't leave Paris! The city needs Ladybug! I'm going to have to give up my miraculous for the summer, and Chat is going to have a new partner, and he's going to like her better, and then everyone will, and then I'll lose you, and never be Ladybug again, and then I'll die alone, and then- ow! Stop pinching me!" 

Tikki giggled.   
"Marinette, calm down. You are a great Ladybug, and no one wants to replace you. There is a way for you to go with Jagged, and still protect Paris. Just go to Master Fu's and tell him what's going on. He can help you."

She said her transformation words, and headed off.

When she finished explaining everything, the Guardian calmly got up, and walked over to the Miracle Box, and handed her the horse miraculous. A kwami came out and turned up her nose at the girl. "Are you rich or famous?"

"Well, I've met a few celebrities, and I'm going to be traveling with a famous person." 

"Very well."

"Ok, so what is your name, and what do you eat? Also, what is your power?"

"I am Kaalki. I only eat the best sugar cubes, and my power is Voyage. It lets you open a portal to anywhere you wish."

Marinette rushed up to give Master Fu a hug. "Thank you Master Fu! I was so worried that I would have to leave Tikki here!" 

"It is alright Ladybug. I would never ask you to leave your kwami if it was not completely necessary. However, you must tell Chat Noir that you will be making it to attacks later than usual." 

"Of course, Master!"

As she swung back to the meeting place after patrol, she mused on how everything turned out. Chat Noir was Marinette's rock during everything. Well, him, Luka, and Kagami. After Lila started getting worse, Adrien decided to stop with the high road, and try to just expose her. It backfired, because everyone thought Marinette had just 'brainwashed' him, and started isolating him as well. It pushed him closer to Marinette, and as a result, she got to know him better. She realized that her feelings had evolved to be completely platonic.

"Milady!"

She felt a strong pair of arms surround her, and realized that she had been heading straight for a wall.

"Thanks Adrien."

"What were you thinking about that had you so distracted? Me? I mean I know I look good in this, but- ow!"

"Shut up Kitty."

He put her down at their usual post-patrol meet up. His easy grin started morphing into a concerned look the more she fidgeted. Finally she said, “I’m leaving for the summer, Adrien. I’ll still make it to attacks, I have a way, but I can’t come to patrols for the summer. I’m so sorry.” 

His face fell. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. “I’m happy for you,Marinette. I know this year hasn’t been the best for you, but I hope you can have a better summer.” 

She slumped into him. “You’re a great partner Chaton. I really wish that I could stay longer, but I have to get home. I’ll be leaving on Monday.” 

He pulled himself away from her, and turned around with a wink, jumping off the rooftop with a wink and a “Bye, Bugaboo!” 

She smiled fondly, shaking her head and reaching for her yo-yo.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette meets two of Gotham's heroes. One of the bats is a fan.

The next morning, Tikki let her chosen sleep in. Marinette didn’t wake up until eleven. She woke up quietly, and started humming as she started her morning routine. She then headed down to the bakery to grab a few cookies, and maybe a croissant for breakfast. She greeted her parents, and then headed back upstairs to start getting her things together for Jagged’s tour. 

She decided on two suitcases, since her break was two months. She started by grabbing a cosmetics bag to pack her basic hygiene products. She went through the rest methodically. Socks, undergarments, then bottoms, several shirts, then she packed two everyday dresses and one formal dress. 

The first everyday dress was a pastel yellow with light and dark flowers. The second casual dress was a baby blue off shoulder with a black belt. The formal dress was something she was very proud of. It had taken her close to two months to make. It was the color of her Ladybug suit, with a halter neckline and a backless bodice, and black roses embroidered on the hem, and an a-line cut that went to the floor. She also packed four jackets, two leather (one maroon and one black), and two hoodies, as this “Gotham” seemed to run a bit cooler. She also grabbed some earring covers.

Ever since the Reflekdoll incident, she realized that she could never, ever take out her earrings again. So one day, she had sat down and made several different ways for her to attach things to them without getting a new pair. This way, she could get new styles without having to take out Paris’ defense against Hawkmoth. Ever since she had received her miraculous, she had started to become more affected by the cold. She also seemed to have an affinity to plants. Whenever she would pass by them they would bloom, just a bit brighter.

Before she knew it, it was Monday morning. She grabbed her signature outfit. She had decided that she wanted to start wearing out her hair about three months prior. Her Ladybug suit still kept the pigtails, but Tikki said that it was just a way to keep her identity more secret. After tearful goodbyes with her parents, she was on a plane to the Americas. She put in her earbuds and leaned back. The trip would take eight hours, and she did not want to deal with jetlag. She dozed off with Tikki sleeping comfortably in her hair. 

When she woke up, the plane had landed, and Penny was shaking her awake. Jagged was stretching, and Tikki was just waking up.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

When she arrived at the hotel, she gaped. The place was just as lavish as Le Grand Paris, but it was the kind of decor that you knew was expensive through the subtle touches. The Bourgeois’ hotel was more golden rooms, and velvet cushions, while this was marble flooring and big windows. It was far more minimalist. They ate an early dinner, and then she headed up to her room to destress with Tikki. Her room was just down the hall from her two guardians for the trip. As soon as she shut her door, the embodiment of creation flew into the air and did a few twirls. “Marinette! This room is so nice!” The heroine chuckled. “Yes it is. I like it so much better than Chloé’s hotel. It’s much more modern! Anyway, Tikki I’m going to use the bathroom, and then we can head out. You know where I packed the cookies.” As soon as Marinette came out of the bathroom, she grabbed her jacket with her money inside, and Tikki zipped inside. Then they headed out into the streets of Gotham.

“I’m going off course momentarily.”

“Why, Robin?”

“There is a young girl, looks to be about 14-15, with a shopping bag about to be mugged.” 

“Intercept, and I’ll send over Nightwing to take over your portion while you and Red Hood take her home.”

“Understood.”

Marinette knew that there were some men following her, but she wanted to lure them to a more open area than the alleyway she was walking through. As they started to close in on her, she turned around, and one of them said, “Look here Sweetheart, we just want the bag, and whatever money you have on you.” “Yeah, I’m going to have to go with no.” With that, she swept his legs out from under him, hit him on the head, and left him unconscious in under 10 seconds. The rest of the men rushed her. There were about six of them, and as she was finishing to the last one, she heard a grapple, and then Robin and Red Hood were in front of her. Red Hood seemed to be gaping at her. Then, he put his hand on her shoulder, and as an instinct, she grabbed his hand and flipped him. Robin started to get irritated. 

“Why would you do that!”

“Je suis désolé! Um.. I’m sorry! It was a reflex!”

“Where did you learn to fight like that anyway?” 

“Paris has heroes and akumas. I needed to be able to fight to protect myself.”

“What is an akuma?”

In confusion she pulled out her phone and brought up footage of the most recent battle that Nadja Chamack had covered. As she did this, Red Hood started to get up. Then, she showed it to them as she explained. Robin only seemed to get more and more agitated as he watched it. 

Finally, he exclaimed, “How did the League not know about this? It should have been brought up immediately!”

She only stared at him in confusion. She had tried to contact the Justice League once, and had learned her lesson. “Ladybug did contact the Justice League, but Superman told her to stop joking around, and to never call them again..”

Red Hood saw her confusion, and tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Cupcake, we’ll make sure that they know about it.”

“No!”

“No?”

“The Justice League cannot help! It’s hard for Ladybug to defeat regular civilians, let alone people with powers, training, or both!”

“We’ll still help, but what if they can stay out of Paris?”

“Oui, oui! That would be very helpful!”

The boys were still confused, but the girl just started picking up the things that had fallen out of her bag, and started to walk off. They took off after her.

“Wait! We need to walk you back to wherever your staying! You can’t just walk home alone in Gotham.”

“Ok!” Can you take me home on the roofs?”

Red Hood looked over at his partner for the night, who simply shrugged and reached for his grapple. Red Hood simply shrugged and reached for her.

As they arrived back at the hotel, the vigilantes realized they forgot to get her name.

Robin decided to ask. “Miss, we forgot to get your name.”

“Oh. I’m Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

The comms that had been mostly silent, except for a few snickers here and there from Tim, who was already done with his patrol, suddenly erupted with an unmanly shriek.

The boys both jumped, and simultaneously hissed.

“What the hell, Red Robin?”

“What the hell, Drake?”

“That girl is Jagged Stone’s main designer for most of his wardrobe! She’s on tour with him!”

Jason turned back to her. “You know Jagged Stone?”

“You mean Uncle Jagged? Yeah. He’s upstairs with Aunt Penny.”

“Oh my God! She calls them her Uncle and Aunt! That’s so cute! Can you get her autograph?!”

Jason decided to get it over with. She was already almost through the lobby. She appeared to be talking to her purse. “Um, Marinette? Red Robin happens to be a fan. Do you have an autograph?”

“As a thank you for taking me home! Will a napkin work?”

“Yesss! Tell her yes!”

“He says yes.”  
To Red Robin, for helping to save this city as a real hero!

-MDC

“Thank you, Princess!” He gave a sloppy salute and a wink as he left.

She shook her head and walked into the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Feature: As Jason walks into the Batcave, Bruce hears an ecstatic squeal.  
Followed by a “Shut up, Tim!”  
Scene ends with Bruce facepalming.


	3. Chapter Three

Damian was having a terrible morning. First, he had stayed up way too late researching the Dupain-Cheng girl. Then, when he woke up, he found out they were out of his tea! 

Damian finally had his black tea. He paid, and was heading back to a table to finish his research, when something ran into him and spilled his drink! He looked down, and was about to tell the person off, when he saw her, and the retort died on his tongue. It was her! The girl he had sacrificed his precious sleep to research! And she was cleaning up his shirt and the tea spill, while.. trying to offer him a new shirt? 

"I promise I didn't mean to! I can get you a new shirt if you come with me, and I'm so sorry Monsieur. Let me buy you a new coffee! What kind was it?" 

"... Black tea with lemon and sugar…"

She grabbed a new one from the front, and then she took him over to a table. When he sat down, she slid her phone over the table. She scrolled through it as he just stared. She was muttering to herself. "This one has too much purple. Too much gray, this one has- oh wait! This one is perfect! Mister…"

"Just Damian."

"Ok just Damian, what do you think of this as a replacement shirt?"

It was a rather impressively tailored wine red dress shirt with fine golden embroidery around the cuffs. You had to look closely to find it though.

"I like it. Where is it?" In my hotel room. It's only a few minutes walk."

"The Wayne Hotel?"

"Yes, that one!"

Damian, of course, knew this already, but he couldn't just say so. He was rather shocked that she had a ready made shirt.

They gathered up their cups and coats, and headed out to the hotel. The duo made pleasant small talk on the way, and before either of them knew it, they had arrived.

She went upstairs to grab the shirt, and as he waited, he decided to edit his notes on her. Subject appears to have mild anxiety. 

She rushed back downstairs with the shirt in hand. She practically threw it at him. "It should fit, but it might be a little big, and I can pay the dry-cleaning for the old one-"

"This should fit fine, and I have more than enough money to cover dry-cleaning."

That seemed to calm her a bit, and the tiny woman started to pull him in the general direction of the restrooms. "Try it on! I think it'll look very good!"

When he stepped out, the prince of assassins marveled at the craftsmanship. If Damian didn't know better, he would never have said it was homemade. The quality was excellent. He heard a feminine squeal. "It fits you perfectly! It looks so great! The color really brings out your eyes, Monsieur! You should wear this color more."

"Okay..?"

"Any comments? Do you want any adjustments?"

"No, this looks fine. Thank you Miss Marinette. Most people wouldn't do all this for a stranger."

"Nonsense! I ruined the shirt, I needed to give you another. I'm just a natural klutz."

With that, they said their goodbyes. Damian walked out of the lobby with a small smile on his face. It remained all the way until he got to Wayne Enterprises and saw his brothers.

Once Demon Spawn had explained, Tim pulled up the video footage. As soon as it started, Damian scowled and walked out.

Meanwhile, Dick and Tim were absolutely gob-smacked. They had never seen him warm up to someone that quickly. Hell, he hadn't even warmed up to them that much! Dick started plotting ways to meet her. Tim, of course wanted to meet her as well. (Mostly because he wanted another autograph for himself, and not just Red Robin, but who would know?)


	4. Chapter Four

As Damian shrugged off the shirt from Marinette, he saw a flash of orange. As he looked in the collar, he realized she had pinned a note on it. It read: Hello, Just Damian! I was wondering if you would like to get coffee or grab lunch with me sometime. If you're interested, my number is: xx xx xx xx xx. See you then!

Marinette heard a buzzing from her phone as she crawled into bed, and she picked it up. She had a new message. From xxx-xxx-xxxx, it read: Is this Marinette from the coffee shop? This is Damian.

MDC: It is. So are you up for coffee? Or?

DW: I would like that very much. Tomorrow?

MDC: Sounds great! I'll meet you there at ten?

DW: Yes. See you then.

Marinette looked over at Tikki, only to find that the Kwami was asleep. She fell back against her pillow with a smile and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Meanwhile, at the Manor, Damian was freaking out, though you'd never know it. He had just made a date! With a pretty girl! Yet, she was so nice and sweet. Like an Angel. He saved her contact, and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

<><><><><><><><>

When Tikki woke her up, Marinette got ready quickly. She decided to wear her yellow dress with tan sandals, and her hair down.. Then, she went down the hall to let Jagged and Penny know where she was going. She headed down to the lobby where she was meeting Damian. As she started to fidget, Damian walked up to the doors. As she met him halfway, she looked over his outfit. It was very pleasing to the eye. Black slacks, and a forest green dress shirt. It matched his eyes perfectly. 

He cleared his throat, and she blushed and looked him in the eye. He seemed amused. She started to explain. "Your shirt matches your eyes."

He seemed to soften a bit, and then looked to the doors. "Shall we?"

"Oh- yes! Let's go."

They walked in companionable silence with a few bits of small talk. Finally he asked what he had been wanting to know. "So what brings you to Gotham?"

"Oh. My uncle Jagged wanted me to come with him on his tour as a seamstress. Secretly, I think he was just bored and wanted 'his favorite niece' with him."

"You mean Jagged Stone, Jagged? That one? You must be his designer then. You are MDC?"

"Oui- yes. I love designing, and since I'm already applying to Gotham Institute next year, I thought I could just have the interview in person."

"So you plan to come to GI? What's so special about it?"

"Well first, it's got an amazing design course, and I'm obviously very interested in that. Second, I need out of Paris. And well, I'll miss my parents, but its pretty far from Paris, no?"

He chuckled and decided not to pry. He had a feeling that it had to do with the whole class bullying her. "Yes it is quite far."

They arrived at the cafe, and ordered quickly. He got a green tea with lemon and honey, and a scone. She ordered a mocha latte with a shot of espresso and an egg biscuit. As they sat down with their food, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Her instincts turned her to the door. As she turned her head, the door was kicked in.

Who came through was the main problem. Scarecrow and two henchmen. They made a beeline for her table. They grabbed both her and Damian. She was about to fight off the grip of the one who grabbed her, but she saw the glint of a gun barrel pointing at Damian's head and went limp.

Find out what he wants, then disarm them.

As she thought this, Scarecrow began to monologue. "Let's dial Daddy Wayne! I think he'll be happy to fork over a few million to get his precious son back."

Daddy Wayne? Marinette suddenly realized who 'Just Damian' was. Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne. The billionaire! Like as in, Wayne Hotel and Wayne Enterprises, Wayne!

As she put this all together, Damian and Scarecrow were negotiating. He knew he could get himself out of this and take out the henchmen, but he wasn't sure if he could get to Marinette on time. He pressed his belt buckle.

Suddenly Scarecrow made a signal to the man holding his date. He grabbed an injector filled with toxin. Damian immediately began to struggle. He couldn't do too much, it could compromise him. But he decided to try something out. "Wait!"

"What, boy?"

"Let me call my father and see what he can do! Just don't touch her."

"Start dialing."

As Damian dialed the familiar number, he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.

Marinette had snapped out of it thanks to a pinch from Tikki. She was preparing to knock out the man holding her, when she felt a prick in her neck. 

She heard a yell of, "No!" before her whole world swirled into mist. 

Suddenly, she was back in Paris fighting Hawkmoth. Her parents were on the ground near her obviously in pain. As she dashed over to them, she saw Uncle Jagged holding his hand to his side as he leaned against a wall. Then she noticed Penny laying on the ground unmoving. She started to run towards her, when she saw Chat. Her stomach turned at what she saw. Hawkmoth was standing over him with his came pointed at his throat. Chat was trying to get up, but it was clear to anyone who was looking that he didn't have the strength. His whole torso was bathed in blood. "No no no no!" Her voice cracked on the last word. Hawkmoth finally noticed her and laughed. It was low and cruel-sounding.

"Poor Ladybug. Couldn't even save her own partner. I warned you that I couldn't be stopped. You chose not to believe me. Now hand over your miraculous."

"Never!"

"Then I guess your partner is no more. Volpina!" 

In her peripheral, she saw Lila's akuma form start moving towards Chat. That was all it took to turn her fear into unadulterated rage.

She lunged for him with a Savage cry, tackling him to the ground as she rained down punches to his face. He seemed shocked, but she couldn't make out why.

As she was about to give the final blow, she felt her arm be pinned behind her. As she rotated, she saw Mayura pinning her and holding her fan to her neck. She pivoted on her knee, and brought up her other to Mayura's hand. As she knocked away the fan, she gave one blow to her neck and knocked the woman unconscious. Then she turned to Volpina. She had somehow gotten Chat of the ground and held him in a chokehold with her flute. She didn't know how he was even standing, but nonetheless, she made an over-the-top signal to the vixen's left. As she turned her head to look, Ladybug slammed her first into her cheek, making her drop her partner to the ground. He crumpled and didn't move. She traded blows with Lila for a few moments before she too, was knocked unconscious. Then she turned back to Hawkmoth. Her enemy was struggling to get up, and she wanted it to stay that way. So she tackled him into a nearby car. She ripped the brooch off, but before she could get a good look at who was behind the mask, her world once again turned to mist, and then it all went black.

Damian was in shock. As he saw Marinette injected with the toxin, he screamed out a "No!" and saw her vision cloud. Her face crumpled, and she started to say, "No no no no!" Then she looked to Scarecrow, who laughed cruelly and said, "Let's see how you do with my strongest toxin yet!"

Suddenly, her expression turned from fear to trembling rage. She lunged for Crane with a yell, and started raining down blows on him. Absentmindedly, Damian noted how good her right hook was. He was honestly shocked. Then, he noticed the first henchman pin her down. She turned, and to his horror, the man was holding a knife to her neck. Out of nowhere, she pivoted on her knee and slammed her other one into the knife. She then socked him in the throat and turned to the one holding him. He had not loosened his grip even a little, and seemed to be in as much shock as Damian. The rest of the patrons had already evacuated. Marinette made an overt gesture to the man's left, and as he turned, she shattered his jaw. The man's grip fell away instantaneously, and the prince of assassins rolled away. He noticed Tim pulling up in the Batmobile with the antidote. He ran outside, grabbed it, and raced back in just in time to see her tackle him. 

He jammed the needle into the side of her neck, and she crumpled into his arms.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

As she came to, Marinette groggily scanned her surroundings. She spotted Scarecrow? being taken into custody by Red Robin, and then she took in the police tape, and then- oh! She scrambled to her knees. She was being cradled by Damian Wayne!

Then the memories came rushing back. She whipped her head around looking around her, but then realized that she was still in Gotham. Oh. She must have gotten hit by his fear toxin at some point. Then she heard Damian trying to reassure her.

"Whatever you saw, wasn't real. By the way, that was one of the most badass things I've ever seen. You took down Scarecrow while under his fear toxin! Where did you learn all that?"

"Oh. Um, I just acted on impulse, I guess.. Also! Why didn't you tell me you were Damian Wayne! Of course you knew where the Wayne Hotel was! You own it!"

He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at her. "I wanted to get to know you before I became, 'Damian Wayne, the richest teen in Gotham', I guess."

She nodded slowly at his answer, and then asked her main question. " You said I took down Scarecrow. What did you mean?"

"I meant what I said, Angel. You annihilated him, while under his influence! That was amazing!"

She blushed again and finally connected the dots.

Just then, Red Robin came in. "Miss, are you okay? That was quite the fight."

She nodded again.

"I only came in time to see you tackle Scarecrow again, but I wish I could have seen the rest of it! You're MDC, right?"

Realization dawned on her. This was the Red Robin that wanted her autograph a few days back.

"And you're the Red Robin that got my autograph, no?"

He nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm just a huge fan, and-"

"It's fine Mr. Robin. Do I need to give a statement or something?"

"Actually, I think it should be fine, so I think I'll help Mr. Wayne here, take you home."   
Slowly, Damian helped her get up, as she swayed a bit, and they set off for her hotel, but as soon as they reached the outside, they were essentially rushed by her Uncle Jagged and Penny.

"Marinette, are you okay? We saw the fight in the news and came as soon as we could!"

"You should have brought Fang! That's what he's for."

She answered back in French. "Je vais bien, Oncle Jagged et tante Penny. Comme vous pouvez le constater, le combat était principalement pour moi de toute façon."

She realized that the other two were still silent, so switching back to English, she announced, "This is Damian and Red Robin." 

Damian calmly shook both of their hands, but Red Robin's mouth was gaping. She gave him a soft nudge, and it all burst forward. "Mr. Jagged Stone, sir-"

"Please just call me Jagged, kiddo! After all, you saved my favorite niece!"

"I'm your only niece!"

"Still my favorite! Please continue."

"Jagged- may I please have an autograph, I'm a huge fan and-"

"Sure thing! Here you go! Rock on, kid!"

Marinette started to get worried, as Red Robin hadn't spoken for a while. She turned to him, and realized that his mouth was open and he was gawking at Jagged.

She cleared her throat, and he snapped out of it. 

"Angel, you're still literally swaying on your feet. You need to get back to your hotel room."

"Oh my! Marinette why didn't you say something!"

Damian decided to just let the rocker and his wife take her back. The group said their goodbyes. And in Tim's case, thank yous. 

"Demon Spawn! I just got Jagged Stone's autograph! And shook his hand!"

"And?"

"And!?"


	5. Chapter Five

As soon as Marinette hit the pillow, she was out. Tikki gazed upon her Chosen for a few moments before curling up in her hair. 

When Marinette woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was text Damian.

MDC: Are you okay after yesterday?

DW: Me? Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question? 

MDC: Still. How are you?

DW: I’m fine, Angel. You were the one that got injected!

MDC: I’m fine. It’s nothing compared to some of the akumas back home.

DW: Akumas?

After a short answer, she logged off to get ready for the day. Today, she wore mint colored romper, gladiator sandals,and a mint headband to match.  
As she walked out of her room, Tikki slipped into her pocket, and she met Jagged and Penny for breakfast.

“Marinette, I’m sure you know that the Wayne Gala is in about two weeks.”

“Yes? What do I have to do with that?”

“Marinette, it would be so rock n’ roll if you came! I have an extra ticket and everything!”

“R-really?”

“Of course! I need to show off my favorite niece!” 

“What Jagged means is that it would be a very good main debut for your career.”

Before Penny even finished her sentence, Marinette was already think of last minute adjustments she could add to her gown.

“-nette! Marinette!”

She blushed. “Sorry Uncle Jagged. I zoned out for a minute. What were you saying?”

“Is that a yes?”

“Of- of course I would want to come! I just have to do some last minute adjustments to my dress. I need to check all the seams, and I want to add one or two more flowers-”

“Marinette, I’m sure whatever you have will look great! I’m guessing that’s what you’ll be doing for the rest of the day?”

She nodded. “Well then, Jagged and I have to head to his temporary studio. We’ll be there for the rest of the day if you need us. Also Marinette?”

“Yes Penny?”

“Try not to get into more hostage situations, okay?” She flushed again, and as they said their goodbyes, she noticed a text from Damian. She started walking out of the lobby.

DW: What are you doing today?

MDC: I was just planning to buy a few things from the nearest fabric store and work on my outfit for the Wayne Gala. Don’t you have to go to that?  
DW: Yes I do. I don’t mind going as much as Drake does. He hates the events Father makes us attend.

DW: Do you want me to accompany you? I know you can handle yourself, but Gotham is still dangerous. Even in the daytime.

MDC: Sure! That sounds wonderful! Where should we meet?

They agree to meet at the same coffee shop, and from there, they head into the city. The two stop for ice cream, and Marinette tells him about Andre’s. 

“That sounds ridiculous. Sweetheart ice cream? And it’s free? How does he keep it in business?”

“I.. actually don’t know. Looking for the cart is always fun though. That’s where I helped set up my friends Luka and Kagami.”

“I don’t have many friends myself, only one, his name is Jon. He reminds me of you actually. I don’t see him much, as he lives in Metropolis, but his demeanour is very similar to yours. He always looks for the “silver-linings”. I, myself am very much a pessimist.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I can kind of tell.”

Marinette was actually quite shocked at how open and unguarded she felt. After everything with Lila, she had become much more closed-off, and couldn’t let many come close. But she had only known Damian for two days, and she had already let him in further than even Chat! 

As she mused, Damian watched her expressions change. This girl had unknowingly, come farther past his walls than anyone he had ever met. Including Jon.

They walked on in a comfortable silence. Until Marinette saw an antique thrift shop. She squealed.

"Damian! Can we go in there? I know you probably wanna just get all this over with, but it looks so cute!"

"Angel, what are you talking about? This is the most fun I've had in.. well, I can't think of a time I've had more."

Marinette looked at him in shock. She thought he had just accepted her offers out of boredom. He actually liked hanging out with her? She realized she had been silent for too long and straightened. The young designer grabbed his arm and said, "Well then, we'll just have to make this the best day ever."

He chuckled as he was dragged after her.

When they got inside, Marinette gasped, dashed over to the dress section, and started muttering to herself. "This one would go with these sandals, and this one could go with my beige purse, and- ooh! This one would go great with my leather jacket!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette saw an old fifties style suit with tails. It would look perfect on him! She grabbed it and walked back over to him, where he was standing with an eyebrow-raised.

She knew he wouldn't just try on the suit. She had to make it worthwhile. An idea came to hear and she decided to go with it.

"I think this would look good on you, but I doubt you would know how to pull it off."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"You see, I think I could pull this off easily."

"I don't think you can accessorize at all."

"Ok then, I'll prove it. The butler doesn't dress me, I can promise you that."

She looked him over and pretended to be skeptical. "Are you sure about that?"

"Obviously."

"Ok, fine then. One minute to find an outfit that will top the other's. Shoes, belts, and jewelry are all fair game. But, you can't use that suit, since I found it. Find something else. But, I do want to see that after. Also, when I win, I get to buy you lunch."

"Yeah right Angel. Three, two, one, go!" Marinette dashed off to the dress aisle she had been in before. She rapidly shuffled thought them all.

Too pink, too dark, too- wait, that's perfect!

She grabbed it and raced to the shoes. She saw a pair of tan booties and grabbed them. Then she ran over to the jewelry. She had ten seconds. She decided to just grab a handful and stuff them in one of the shoes.

As she walked back to Damian, she started planning out her outfit.

Damian had already spotted something on the way in that he thought would be perfect. 

They met back together and headed back to the dressing rooms.

Marinette looked down at the jewelry and smiled victoriously. Damian wouldn't know what hit him. Little did she know that Damian was thinking the exact same thing.

They came out at the same time and their jaws practically unhinged. Simultaneously they both announced, "You win!"

"No, you look much better than I do!"

"No you do!"

Damian was wearing a very layered outfit. It had a white dress shirt with a tie, and a plain grey hoodie over that. Then he had a charcoal suit jacket and matching slacks. To top it off, he had white sneakers on. 

Marinette's outfit was just as beautiful. She had a red knee-length dress with a halter neck, and a cutout at the top of the bodice. She had paired that with tan booties and a necklace with a tiny green pendant.

After a minute of silence, they both burst out laughing. "I guess we both win then. By the way, I think charcoal is a great color for you."

"Red is definitely yours."

Marinette snickered and shook her head. If he only knew.

She made him take a selfie with her to 'preserve the moment'. 

She sent it to him, and then they changed back to their normal clothing.

She decided to get the booties and the necklace. Then she made Damian try on the suit.

It only took her four minutes and a smile to convince him to buy the suit.

After they checked out, they walked to a small cafe that was recommended by the cashier.

"Marinette? What are you getting? I'm thinking the pesto mozzarella club." (I've actually had this, and it's fantastic.)

"Um, I was going to try that, but now I think I'll get the pasta salad."

The two placed their orders, and then Marinette decided to say something.

"Damian? Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being a friend."

He was shocked.

"Me? I should be thanking you. You're the second friend I've ever made."

"Really? Who's the first? Oh, is it that Jon fellow?"

He began to regale her with edited stories of some of Jon's shenanigans.

By the end, she was laughing so hard she couldn't even see straight. "So he just jumped out the window to get away from your cat?" 

"He did."

"Oh my gosh- oh here is the food."

"These look fantastic."

"Wow! It's almost on par with Maman's!"

"Ooh Damian, look at that!" She pointed to his left, and as he turned his head, she stole a big bite of his sandwich.

"I don't see anyth- did you just steal part of my sandwich?"

With full cheeks, she smiled innocently at him, and replied, "No."

"You did! How could you do this? Just for that, I'm doing this!"

He stole a forkful of her pasta.

She gasped and looked back at him, scandalized.

He smirked at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

The two diners dissolved into laughter and agreed to share both plates.

As they neared the elevator, Damian inquired if she would care for ant help with her bags. "I'm fine Damian. I'll text you once I get upstairs." With that, she turned and softly kissed his cheek. "Thank you for today."

As she disappeared into the elevator, he reached up and touched the spot where she had kissed him, and a fond smile worked its way onto his lips.

It wouldn't be coming off until patrol, when Jason would tease him about it and ask where his 'girlfriend' was. Then, it would be replaced by a scowl and he would push Jason off a roof as the Red Hood laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the links to the outfits!
> 
> Linked here: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.tobi.com%2Fproduct_images%2Flg%2F1%2Fmint-its-not-over-draped-playsuit.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tobi.com%2Fproduct%2F58816-tobi-its-not-over-draped-playsuit%3Fcolor_id%3D83393&docid=KTJ93ZYc44EgcM&tbnid=PENGgHI35hLv5M%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjpwcu0pNLlAhUNEawKHZOpBv4QMwiKAigJMAk..i&w=800&h=1200&bih=500&biw=1093&q=mint%20romper&ved=0ahUKEwjpwcu0pNLlAhUNEawKHZOpBv4QMwiKAigJMAk&iact=mrc&uact=8
> 
> https://images.app.goo.gl/qxzgGabU2ZAZyV5j6
> 
> https://images.app.goo.gl/UfC1Re9muM3tjTSc7


	6. Chapter Six

"Damian."

"Yes, Father?"

He was on his way to meet Marinette for lunch, when he was called into the library by his father. 

"Please invite Ms. Dupain-Cheng to dinner tonight. I would like to meet the young woman who has made you so happy."

Damian paled at the thought of her meeting his brothers, but agreed nonetheless.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

"Angel?"

"Yes Damian?"

"Father wants you to attend dinner at the mansion tonight. He and my brothers would like to meet you. You can say no, they can be a bit much-"

"I would love to! But I have nothing to wear, and then I'll pick the wrong thing, and then they'll hate me for looking so awful-"

"Angel! They'll like you, simply because I do. It's not formal, you can wear whatever you like, and they just want to meet you. It'll be fine."

"Ok.. what time?"

"I'll pick you up at six o'clock."

"Ok! I can be ready by then."

She felt Tikki give her a reassuring pat in her jacket.

"I think I'll head back to the hotel. I wanted to finish my gala dress anyway."

As soon as she got into her hotel room, she rushed over to the closet. "Tikki, what can I wear? I have nothing that will work!"

"Marinette, calm down! As you said, it's casual. So you can wear something simple! Maybe you can wear that dress you packed last minute!"

"Tikki, you're a genius! I can put it with that belt, and the brown purse!"

The dress is linked below.

Marinette still had a few hours until she would be picked up, so she decided to finish her dress. She was adding a sash, but that would be black with tiny embroidered red roses.

She had finished about four flowers, when Tikki reminded her that she had an hour till Damian was coming.

She had already told Jagged and Penny about dinner, so they knew not to expect her back for awhile.

She hurried to get into the dress and do her makeup. She went for her usual look, but with a light pink lipstick.

She got a text from Damian while she was brushing out her hair.

DW: I'm about five minutes away. 

MDC: Heading down to the lobby now!

She grabbed her room key off the side table and dashed to the elevator. She came to the front doors just in time to see the car pull up.

She noticed that there was an older man in a suit that came to open the door for her. She gave him a bright smile and and stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Marinette! It's nice to meet you. You must be Alfred Pennyworth?"

He was mildly surprised at how bubbly she was, but refrained from showing it. "Yes Miss Marinette. It is a pleasure for me as well."

He opened the door, and she climbed in. She noticed Damian in the seat next to her. He was observing her outfit with a pleased look. "See, I told you it would work out fine. You look beautiful I'm whatever you wear."

She blushed and looked down at her lap.

"Damian!"

"Yes Angel?"

"You can't just say things like that!"

"Why not? If it's truly making you uncomfortable, I can stop, but you need to know how great you are."

"Damian!"

He chuckled.

Alfred gave a smile as he looked into the rearview mirror. This was going to shock the others. 

When the car pulled up to the Manor, Marinette gasped in awe as she got out. "Whoa.. I knew you were a Wayne, but I kinda forgot."

Damian just smiled at her, and offered his arm.

She latched on, and he braced himself as they walked in. He heard a yell as they walked in. He pinched his nose and groaned. He saw Jason running down the banister as Tim chased after him. "Give me back my coffee!"

"No!"

"I swear to everything holy that if you don't give me my coffee, I'm going to- what the hell?"

"What? Ohhh."

"Hi little lady! You must be the mystery guest that Bruce told us about."

She shook his hand and smiled at him. "I'm Marinette. Are you two Damian's brothers?" 

"Yeah, I'm Jason, and the one standing on the stairs gaping at you is Tim."

"Why? Is something on my face?"

"Demon Spawn is holding your arm! And not to threaten you! How did you do that?"

"Shut up Drake!"

At that moment Bruce walked in.

"Oh my gosh! You're Damian's dad? It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne!"

"Please call me Bruce. And it's a pleasure Miss Dupain-Cheng. My oldest is out of town, or else he would be here"

"That's perfectly fine, Damian already told me. And if I'm going to call you Bruce, you should call me Marinette."

"As you wish."

"Little lady, what brings a ray of sunshine like you to Gotham?"

"I'm not a ray of sunshine, trust me. But, my uncle wanted me to join him here for the summer, so I'm here for break."

"You're MDC, correct?"

"Yep!"

"Your work is quite impressive. Tim is a fan."

She colored lightly at the praise, and they adjourned to the living room. Bruce quickly excused himself to the bathroom.

Tim started a conversation with her about her work, which she joined eagerly. 

Jason noticed Damian looking at her fondly and smirked. Baby Bird finally found a girlfriend.

Alfred called them into dinner, and they were seated. Bruce at the head of the table, with Tim and Jason at his right and left sides.

Marinette sat next to Tim, while Damian sat next to her. The conversation was light.

"Marinette, Damian told me you took down Scarecrow. That's amazing."

"Wait she did what?"

"It was beautiful."

"Yes, we get it loverboy. How did you do it?"

Damian scowled at him.

"I'm pretty sure I just tackled him and punched him until Damian gave me the antidote, but I know quite a bit of self-defense and things like that."

"Wait. So you took down Scarecrow, which is hard enough on its own, but you did it while you had fear toxin?"

"Well, yes. I know it's supposed to make me fearful, but it really just made me angry."

All the men at the table were a teensy bit afraid at the pure rage they saw in her eyes as she glared at the wall.

They were all surprised at the way she simply erased it and plastered on a smile.

Jason recovered first. "I know a bit about self-defense too. Whaddya say to a quick spar after dinner?"

"Todd!"

"It's okay Damian. I have on shorts, and it's not like in a real fight I would be able to choose what I wear anyway."

"That's not what I'm worried about Angel. Todd, if you hurt her, I will murder you in your sleep."

His brothers looked stunned at the name, but he just glared.

Marinette quickly turned the conversation.

"So Tim, I heard you like coffee?"

He still looked a bit shellshocked, but he answered quickly.

"It's my life blood."

"I have this blend that I brought from the bakery I wish you could taste it. I can't live without it." 

"Maybe you can bring it over the next time Angel. But Drake really doesn't need more coffee."

"You always need more coffee!"

"I got that from the amount you order at the coffee shop."

She pouted.

"If you needed it, you would understand."

"It's a good thing I don't then, isn't it?"

She grabbed a bit of his meal with her fork. "Hmph!"

Again, they shocked the whole family when Damian simply smirked at her, and snatched a bite with his.

"Quit flirting Demon Spawn!"

Marinette looked shocked for a moment before covering it. Damian gave his brother a look that promised pain.

The conversation continued until the meal was concluded.

They returned to the living room, where Jason and Tim moved some of the furniture out of the way so nothing would get broken.

Marinette placed her purse down next to Damian, and headed over to the middle of the room.

She sized him up. His fingers twitched as though they were missing something.

"Alright, I'm going to go easy on you to see where you're at."

"No need, I can handle myself."

"Yeah, but if I don't, Demon will kill me."

She looked behind her, only to see Damian glaring at Jason.

"Damian. I want to actually fight, not have my ego stroked!"

"Fine." He sat back with a huff, and Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder.

Jason had been expecting to simply do a quick, painless take down, but when Tim gave the signal, he was surprised to find that she was actually pretty good.

The boys had no idea what she was thinking. She had picked up a couch cushions right before they started. As Tim gave the signal, she threw it to the side, leapt onto his shoulders, and pulled her body backwards until he began to fall. As they tipped, she spun herself around so that his head would land on the pillow. This happened in the span of 3 seconds.

"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? I tried to place the pillow right-"

"I'm fine Princess, but how did you know where to put the pillow?"

"It was easy? I just had to plan out how best to knock you over. You obviously weight a bit more than me, so figure that going for the legs was a bit pointless. Your neck was the next best option."

Damian was in awe. Could she always do that? How long had she been training?

"-ian. Damian?"

"Yes Angel?"

"Are you okay? We were calling you."

"I'm fine. How long have you known how to fight?"

"Maman knows some self-defense. She's taught me since I was little."

Damian still looked a little dazed. Maybe he was coming down with something? She put her hand to his forehead.

He grabbed it. "What are you doing?"

"Well, you're a little red, and your eyes seemed a little glazed, so I was making sure you didn't have a fever."

Oh.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking."

Just then, her purse buzzed. She grabbed it and looked inside. Kaalki handed to her. (Sorry, I kind of forgot I put her in here.)

"Oh. It's Uncle Jagged. I'm just going to take this over there."

"Uncle Jagged?"

She walked to the other side of the phone and switched over to French easily.

Tim started to fanboy. "I forgot to get an autograph!"

"You literally just got one the other night."

"I know that Jason, but she signed that one for Red Robin, I want one for Tim."

"Nerd."

"Shut up."

She walked back over to them. "Mr. W- Bruce, my uncle just reminded me how late it was. He doesn't mind, but I think I should probably head back."

Tim seemed disappointed, but recovered fast. "Before you go, can I get an autograph?"

"From me? Why?"

He gaped at her. Did she not know who she is?

"Do you not know who you are? I literally had a twenty minute discussion with you about your work."

"Yeah, but that was just small talk."

"Um, no it wasn't? I'm like your biggest fan."

"I make almost all of my clothes. It's not that hard. You could probably do better."

"Wait. Did you make your dress?"

"Um yeah? Why?"

"That's amazing! I didn't even know! I thought you bought that."

"It's really not that big of a deal. I can sign it though. Do you have a pen or something?"

He grabbed a pen and a magazine off the coffee table.

"Here!"

She signed it simply: For Tim. -Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Since Alfred was picking up after dinner, Damian offered to drive her back.

They said their goodbyes, and headed out.

As he dropped her off, Marinette felt a sudden surge of confidence, and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

She laughed at his gob-smacked expression and waved before walking to the elevator.

He drove home in a daze. When he walked in, Jason took one look at his face, and gave a knowing smirk.

Damian scowled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the dress!  
https://images.app.goo.gl/NDKc6mXCkSFyFovK7  
And if you're following the story on tumblr, I'm sorry, but those chapters are going to be much shorter.


	7. Chapter Seven

When she woke up, Marinette was smiling. "Tikki, Kaalki, did that really happen last night?"

"Yup! They seemed to really like you. Which is not really a surprise!" Tikki said while nuzzling her Chosen's cheek.

"Tikki, let the girl check her phone. She has a message from the boy."

Marinette startled and leapt for the phone. 

DW: Would you meet me at the coffee shop in an hour?

MDC: Sure thing! Last night was fun, and your brothers are really funny.

DW: Just wait until Grayson gets back for the Gala. He'll love you, Angel.

MDC: I don't know about that, but we'll see. I just have to tell Uncle Jagged where I'm going, and then I'll head down.

She got ready for the day, and then knocked on her temporary guardian's door.

He opened it with a yawn.

"Marinette? Did you need something?"

"Oh! Um, I'm going to meet Damian for breakfast, and I just wanted to let you know."

He answered with a sly smile. "Have fun! Also I like him. You should keep him."

She colored and ran to the elevator.

He called after her, "Have fun on your date!"

Penny came to the door to see what was happening. "Jagged? What was that about?"

"She's meeting the Wayne boy for breakfast."

"Oh, I liked him. He's much better than that Agreste boy. He'll protect her, and after everything that's happened, she needs that."

"That's why I wished her luck, Pen."

They chuckled and walked back into the room to get ready for the day.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Damian was rather nervous. He had talked to his father after returning Marinette to her hotel, and had his blessing.

He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. He was the prince of assassins! He didn't get nervous over a girl!

Then, he saw Marinette opening the cafe door, and the nerves returned tenfold. 

She looked amazing. She always did, but there was something about the way the light hit her hair, that made her look like an actual angel.

She noticed him and waved. He smiled back, and stood to pull out her chair.

He could do this!

"Hey Damian! I'm so glad you texted me! I had no idea what to do with my day! Uncle Jagged's first performance in Gotham isn't until next week, but the Gala is tomorrow. I need to go get some shoes, and maybe some more hair clips."

He had to do it now!

"Speaking of the Gala, I was wondering if you would let me escort you? It's perfectly okay if you don't want to, you probably want to go with Mr. Stone, but if you were open to it, I would love to bring you."

Marinette was pretty sure she had gone into shock. Damian wanted to go to the Gala with her?! She was just a girl from Paris! Granted she was a superhero, but he didn't know that! Marinette realized she hadn't said anything.

"U-um u would love to go with you! But are you sure you want to take me? You could have anyone!"

"So could you. You don't realize how many people would jump at the opportunity to be with you at anytime. Plus, I don't want to go with anyone, I wish to go with you."

She reddened and looked down. "Is your father okay with this? I don't want him to be mad at you."

She had just received an invitation to go to one of the biggest parties of the year, with one of the richest people in the world, and she was worried if his father would be angry? He couldn't wait to surprise her tomorrow night.

He took her hand. "Angel, I asked his blessing last night. And he gave it without hesitation. My whole family loves you. Even Todd! It's not a problem, I promise."

"Alright then."

She settled back into her chair, before she suddenly jerked her head up.

"Angel, what's wrong?"

"I have to go get shoes! Now that I'm going with you, my shoes have to be perfect!"

She moved into Ladybug-mode. She had a mission, and she needed her shoes. 

Damian was a little surprised at the change in demeanor. She had the same look in her eye that she had right before she took down Jason. She had already opened her phone and seemed to be searching for something.

"What are you doing Marinette?"

She replied almost absentmindedly. "I'm finding the picture of my dress for tomorrow. I need to match the shoes."

"Can I see it? I need to match my shirt to your dress."

"It's a surprise. Just wear red."

She gathered her purse off her chair, grabbed his hand, and walked out.

What was she doing? 

It was actually kind of attractive how determined she seemed.

No! He shook his head to clear it.  
"Angel, not that I didn't want to come with you, but where are you taking me?"

"I need shoes, and I need help to find my way around. So you're coming with me."

This must be what her file meant when it said she was a good leader.

"Come on! The first place I want to look at is on the next street!"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>  
They spent two hours looking around for the perfect pair of shoes, and finally, she had found a store that looked more promising than the rest.

It was a department store, but it still had a cozy feeling to it. She dashed over to the shoes, and as she got to the sevens, she saw the perfect pair of shoes! They were silver with short heels, and had thin straps covering the foot. To top it off, they were only thirty dollars!

She squealed. "Damian, these are perfect!"

He chuckled. "You could go in sneakers, and no one would care."

She pouted at him. "I guarantee that someone would notice, plus I would know! You can't wear sneakers to a party like that, Dami."

"Sure. Can we please get out of here now? Do all girls stress over shoes this much?"

"The ones that design their outfits do!"

"Fair point."

He tried to pull out of his wallet, but she managed to pay before he could. 

They were laughing as they made it outside. "I didn't mean to shop for so long! I just didn't know how long it had been!"

"How did you not realize it had been two hours?" He asked incredulously.

"I don't shop much anymore! I make all my clothes, so I don't usually need to, and when I do, I take longer."

They walked through the park, and as they did, Damian noticed how the flowers seemed to lean towards her, and then a ladybug landed on her finger.

"Damian we should get a picture with the flowers in the background!"

Whew. She didn't notice.

They leaned their heads together and smiled. Marinette wider than his, but it was still there. 

As she pulled out her phone to take another picture, a ladybug landed on her finger.

She looked at the tiny insect with pure wonder on her face, and he took a photo.

She snapped her head up at the sound. "Damiaaan!"

"What?"

"You can't just take a picture without warning me!"

"Why not? It looks perfect."

"Fine. Just let me see it."

As she reached for his phone, he put his hand up where she couldn't reach it. 

"Damian, let me see it!"

"No, you're going to try to delete it!"

"Then send it to me so I can see it!"

He sent both pictures that they had taken, and he heard a ding come from her hand. He looked over her shoulder as she unlocked it. She had a photo of herself with three people as her home screen. To the left, there was a girl with short dark hair and a white jacket over a red shirt. The first boy had teal hair and blue eyes, and had his arms wrapped around the girls. The two were holding an ice cream cone between them. Marinette had her other arm wrapped around a blonde boy who was smiling widely. She was holding her own cone. It had darker ice cream on the bottom, and green on the top. The other boy had a cone as well, and his had both blue and red coloring.

She noticed him looking at it, and explained. "We went back to Andre's to celebrate Luka and Kagami becoming official. You can even see the cart in the background."

She checked the photos he sent, and was pleasantly surprised at how good they both looked. She set the selfie as her new homescreen, and they left the park.


	8. Chapter Eight

Damian was actually excited for the Gala. Tonight he would ask Marinette to be his girlfriend. They had only known each other for about a week, but he was firm in the knowledge that that was what he wanted. He had it all planned out. He would take her to the balcony, and present her with the necklace he had found after he dropped her off yesterday. He had noticed it while she was pulling him into different shops. He saw a jewelry store, and it looked promising.

He had thought to get earrings, but he remembered how important they seemed to her, and decided against it. She would probably lose a bracelet, but a necklace would be much harder. He had browsed for about ten minutes before he saw it. It was perfect for her.

It was a yin yang necklace. He didn’t know why, but it just felt right. The two halves were red and black, ruby and black diamond, set on a silver chain. He called a clerk over and purchased it immediately.

But, back to the present. He couldn’t figure out what to wear. Marinette had said to wear red, but he didn’t know what tie to wear. 

He sighed. Grayson could probably help. Damian pressed the intercom. “Grayson? Can you help me with something in my room?”

A response crackled in. “I’m a bit busy Baby Bird.”

“Please?”

He heard a rustling over the system. “Did you just say please?”

Damian glared at the button. “Fine. Just call Father and tell him I need help then.”

“No no no! I’m coming right now!”

He rolled his eyes. Grayson was so dramatic.

Dick appeared in the doorway panting. “I-I was in the cave. H-hang on.” He caught his breath quickly.

“I just need your help.”

“Is- is that a suit?”

“Yes, I need to pick out a tie to match this shirt, but I’m not sure which one.”

Dick smirked. “Is this for the girl that Jason told me about?”

Damian gave him his patented death-glare. “Shut up Grayson. Will you help me or not?”

“How come I was your first pick?”

“You have Kor’i, so I figured you might not be a complete fool with this. Plus, I didn’t want to hear it from Todd.”

“Alright, um, what color is her dress and shoes? Do you know?”

“She wouldn’t tell me anything about the dress, but the shoes are silver.”

“Is that where you were all day? Let me see the navy one.”

“This one’s perfect for that shirt.”

It was a simple navy tie, but somehow, Grayson had managed to find one that matched her hair perfectly.

“...Thank you Grayson.”

“No problem Baby Bird. See you tonight!”

“Wait! I need one more thing. How did you get Starfire to become your girlfriend?”

Dick felt his eyes go wide. “You really like her?”

Damian gave him a firm nod. “I want to ask her tonight. With this.”

“Wow. You’re really going all out. Just ask her honestly, and let her know that you mean it. I’m pretty sure me and Kor’i’s relationship isn’t standard.”

Damian smiled and began to get dressed.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

At lunch, Marinette told Jagged and Penny that she wouldn’t be joining them at the Gala. Penny took it in stride, but Jagged teased her mercilessly.

At last, she had made it back to her room.

Time to start getting ready.

She hopped in the shower to wash her hair, and then she started curling her hair. She wanted a messy updo, but curls tumbling out. Linked here: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fyoungmoneyblog.co.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F01%2F54a4d84467654720cfe26800964a4a9c-curly-messy-buns-messy-bun-updo.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fyoungmoneyblog.co.uk%2F54a4d84467654720cfe26800964a4a9c-curly-messy-buns-messy-bun-updo%2F&docid=id2wM79w4LJnLM&tbnid=h93AvLUfgodx-M%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjZm9K0n9_lAhXyc98KHfj5Ba8QMwijASgdMB0..i&w=736&h=919&bih=500&biw=1093&q=messy%20curly%20bun&ved=0ahUKEwjZm9K0n9_lAhXyc98KHfj5Ba8QMwijASgdMB0&iact=mrc&uact=8

After she did that, Tikki and Kaalki laid out all her makeup. She went for her usual look, but with just a bit of dark pink on her eyelids, and bold red lipstick. Other than that, she just did the basics, as she didn’t want to overdo it.

After that, she changed into her dress, and tied the sash around it. She finished off the look with a simple silver clutch that she had grabbed at the last moment to match her shoes. Tikki and Kaalki hid in her dress pockets for the night. Finally, she grabbed her phone, which had just received a text.

Damian: We’re almost at the hotel.

Marinette: We?

Damian: Father, Selina Kyle, Dick Grayson, Kor’i Anders, Todd, and Drake.

Marinette: I know who most of them are, but who are Selina Kyle and Kor’i Anders?

Damian: Selina is Father’s fiance, and Kor’i is Grayson’s wife. The car is here.

Marinette: Heading down!

She hurried out the door, shutting her lights off, and grabbing her room key to stuff it in her purse.

As she got to the lobby, she saw Damian waiting for her. He looked positively dashing in his suit. She had to actively stop herself from gawking at him. When she looked up at his face, she giggled. The flowers in his hand were slack at his side, and his jaw had practically unhinged.

She waved at him and walked over. “Hi Damian!” 

“Angel, you-you look amazing!”

She was wearing a red ballgown with black roses embroidered over everything. It had a halter neckline, and a black sash with red roses. It was perfect.

She gave him a teasing smile. “That explains the open mouth.”

He snapped his mouth shut and gave her a playful glare. “Not funny” Angel. If you saw yourself, you’d have an open mouth too.” 

“I looked in the mirror before I headed down. Does that count?”

“Tt.”

“Are those for me?”

He remembered the flowers in his hand, and presented them to her.

She giggled again. “They match my dress perfectly!”

They had reached the car. He opened the door for her, and she climbed inside, careful of all her hard work. She saw a man she didn’t know offer her a hand. “You must be Mr. Grayson?”

“That’s me! Marinette, right? I have to say, I understand why Damian was so nervous now.”

She flushed lightly as she settled into her seat, the boy in question sitting beside her.

“Grayson!”

Before it could get too heated, a woman about Bruce’s age stuck out a hand. “I’m Selina. I have to say, I love your dress. Who is it?”

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you! Um, it’s by me.”

The woman’s face looked shocked for a split second, before turning pleased.

Tim butted in at that moment. "Marinette, that's incredible! I told you your work is great!" She flushed and looked down. She examined the flowers. "Honestly, I would've finished it way earlier if the flowers hadn't taken so long."

Tim looked flabbergasted. "Wait, so you made the roses?" 

"Yep! All forty-five!" 

She was about to say something else, when another voice introduced herself. "Hello! I am Kor'i! It is lovely to meet you!"

Her cheerful demeanor reminded Marinette of Rose, and for a moment, her smile faltered, but she shook her head to clear away the memories, and brightened her smile. "Thank you! I love your hair!"

Jason nudged Tim and Dick as they started up a conversation. "Look at Demon Spawn!" 

"He looks so happy. I knew he liked her when he asked for help earlier, but he is absolutely gone for her!"

Damian was looking at Marinette contently and had a fond smile on his lips.

He appeared to be fiddling with something in his pocket.

"Angel, is your Uncle coming?"

She replied with, "Yes, he and Aunt Penny should be there soon."

She turned back to the conversation, only to find the entire car completely silent, and almost everyone with shocked looks. 

"Do I have something on my face?"

Life seemed to return to the passengers, and they saw Tim sliding money to a smug Jason.

"Seriously Todd?"

"Of course we placed bets, Baby Bird, I'm not missing this."

Dick asked the question that seemed to be in everyone else's minds. "Angel?"

"What? She is one." Marinette's cheeks reddened again. 

She hit his arm. "Damian! I told you not to say things like that!"

"But Angel, you are."

She huffed and hit his arm again.

The car still looked surprised, but seemed to accept it for what it was.

"Angel, we're here. Are you ready?" The occupants didn't even seem to notice their location. 

Alfred opened the door, and he offered her his arm. "As ready as I'll ever be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Her hairstyle is here: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fyoungmoneyblog.co.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F01%2F54a4d84467654720cfe26800964a4a9c-curly-messy-buns-messy-bun-updo.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fyoungmoneyblog.co.uk%2F54a4d84467654720cfe26800964a4a9c-curly-messy-buns-messy-bun-updo%2F&docid=id2wM79w4LJnLM&tbnid=h93AvLUfgodx-M%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjZm9K0n9_lAhXyc98KHfj5Ba8QMwijASgdMB0..i&w=736&h=919&bih=500&biw=1093&q=messy%20curly%20bun&ved=0ahUKEwjZm9K0n9_lAhXyc98KHfj5Ba8QMwijASgdMB0&iact=mrc&uact=8


	9. Chapter Nine

As they got out of the limo, dozens of camera flashes went off. Then, the questions started. 

“Damian! Who’s your date?”

“Mr. Grayson, how is the baby?”

“When’s the wedding, Bruce?”

“Who’s your date Damian?”

That one, he answered. “This is MDC.”

Then he pulled her inside the doors. “Angel, are you okay? I know the reporters can be alot-”

She laughed softly. “Damian, I’ve gone to events before. I went to a party with Clara, and I’ve been to plenty of Gala’s with Adrien.”

He was about to respond, when a loud voice cut through. “Marinette, is that you?”

“Hi Uncle Jagged!”

Tim looked ready to faint when she introduced them. “Uncle Jagged, this is Damian’s brothers. Richard, Jason, and Tim. He’s a fan.”

“Well, any friend of Marinette is rockin’ in my book. Want a picture?”

Tim fumbled for his phone. “U-um yes sir! Here it is!”

Damian snickered, and even Marinette had to stifle a giggle at his face when Jagged put an arm around him.

“Th-thank you Mr. Stone!”

“It’s no problem kid.” He turned to Damian.

“If you hurt her, I’ll feed you to Fang.”

“I would never! But if I did, I would gladly let you.”

“Uncle Jagged!”

“What, Marinette? I had to give him the ol’ shovel talk!”

“Ughh.” She groaned and started dragging Damian away from him, and to Penny.

“Aunt Penny!”

“Hi Marinette!”

“Please come get Uncle Jagged! He’s threatening Damian.”

She chuckled and went to retrieve her husband.

Damian looked down at her. “Angel, would you like to dance?”

She gave him her hand. “Alright! But if I trip over you, I warned you.”

“It’s a good thing I’m good enough for the two of us then.” He led her onto the dance floor, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Is-is this okay Dami?"

"Angel, if it wasn't, you'd know. Trust me. I've had girls latch on when I didn't want them to, and it did NOT go well for them."

She snickered. "Yeah I bet."

They talked as they danced. "Look at Drake."

She snuck a look over her shoulder and almost burst out laughing. Jagged was hugging him as he walked away, and Tim looked a second away from spontaneously combusting.

She muffled a laugh in his shoulder. "D-Damian, his face!"

He smirked. "He looks like he's going to fall over."

She was literally shaking with laughter. "Damian, can we go outside before I make a scene? I can't hold it anymore!"

He grabbed her hand and left them outside. As soon as they stepped into the balcony, she doubled over with laughter. "His-his face! I wish I had a picture!"

"Why, Angel, I didn't know you were so devious!"

"Shut up Damian! I bet you got a picture!"

"As a matter-of-fact, I did. Look."

When she looked at it, she doubled over again, leaning against the railing to catch her breath. He had the most awkward face she had ever seen. And that was coming from her!

She finally calmed down, and then took one look at Damian, and sobered. "Damian?" He looked almost..nervous? He didn't get nervous.

"Marinette.. I know I've only known you for a week, but I know I like you. Romantically. You can make me laugh, when no one else can."

"What? I like you romantically too Damian, but what are you talking about?"

He pulled something out of his pocket. "Marinette, will you be my girlfriend?" She gaped at him. "M-me?"

"Yes, but if you don't want to-"

He was interrupted as she threw her arms around him in a hug. "Damian, I would love to be your girlfriend, if you'll have me!"

He smiled as she beamed up at him. He backed away and handed Marinette the box with the necklace. She gasped as she opened it. "Damian! This is too much for me! It's beautiful, but it must have cost a fortune!"

"Angel, you deserve that and more. Plus, you do remember who I am, right? It's not like I can't afford it."

"Still, Damian.."

She looked up at him, searching his eyes with her gaze. She must have found what she was looking for, because she looked satisfied and beamed at him.

She asked him in almost a whisper, "Can you put it on for me?"

He nodded and reached into the box for the end of the chain. She shivered as his hand touched her neck while connecting the clasp. 

She turned around and leapt at him for a hug. 

They stood there in the moment for who knows how long, when a voice startled both of them. “Guys, I found them!” It was Jason.

“Where were you guys?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Todd…”

“Relax Baby Bird! I was just messing with you. But seriously, were you two out here all this time? It’s been an hour.”

They both looked surprised, but Marinette let it show far more. “An hour?!”

“There you are Little D! We were worried about you!” Dick ran up with Kor’i at his side.

“We’re fine Grayson. Are you all done now?”

Dick was about to retort, when he noticed their clasped hands. He gave Damian an inquiring look, which was responded to with a short nod. 

Marinette was feeling a bit of whiplash. First, Damian had asked her to be his girlfriend, which came as a shock to her. Sure, she thought of Damian that way, but had always pushed it away as a possibility that could never happen. Then his brothers had come looking for them, because apparently they had been out here for an hour! An hour and she didn’t even notice!

Now Richard and her boyfriend (He was her boyfriend now!) were having some kind of silent conversation, which had left Damian with a small, triumphant smile, and Richard with a beaming grin.

She gave Damian an enquiring look, and he whispered to her, “He helped me pick out my outfit and gave me some good advice.”

She turned and smiled brightly at his brother. “Thank you Mr. Grayson!”

“You’re practically family now. Call me Dick!”

She went crimson and nodded at him. “What time is it?”

Damian pulled out his phone. “It’s after ten.”

“What?!”

Selina cut in. “Did you want to go back to your hotel? Because if not, I would love to talk with you about your dress.”

“Um.. I would love that, but let me check with Aunt Penny and Uncle Jagged. They’re my guardians for this trip.”

She walked across the balcony and grabbed her phone from Tikki, who was positively beaming at her, while Kaalki gave a simple nod. She dialed the number for Penny, and waited. “Marinette? Are you okay? I was just about to call you-”

She heard a rustling and then she heard Jagged pick up the phone. She had to pull it away from her head. “Marinette! Are you alright? We saw you go off with that Wayne boy, and then we didn’t see you anymore!”

“I’m fine, Uncle Jagged! I was with Damian the whole time. Also, I was wondering if I could go to Wayne Manor with them for a while?”

Jagged switched it to a video call. He looked over her face, and then smiled as he noticed the necklace. “Of course Marinette! You should even spend the night! But before you go, let me talk to the boy.”

She walked back to the group, and handed the phone over to Damian with a sheepish look that screamed, I’m-sorry-in-advance. He took the phone, and walked to the edge of the balcony. She saw him nod along with whatever Jagged was saying, and relaxed.

“So, you’re Damian’s girlfriend now? He was really excited this morning.”

She flushed as the rest of the group turned toward her. She started to fiddle with her new necklace, which Kor’i picked up on first. “Your necklace is lovely! Did Damian give it to you?”

“Um-yeah, he gave it to me when he asked.”

Dick pumped his fist. “Yes! How did he ask you?”

“He was really sweet about it, and I could tell he was being honest with me. It was wonderful.” She trailed off with a far-away look on her face.

Damian walked back over to them with a smirk, and handed her the phone. “Your uncle is very protective Angel.”

She buried her head in her hands. “What did he say?”

“He just gave some very creative threats, and then your Aunt stepped in. She actually scares me more than he did.”

She groaned. Of course they did.

“Can we go now?”


	10. Chapter Ten

The group loaded back into the car, where Damian and Marinette held a quiet conversation in the corner.

“He said you could spend the night. Would you like to?”

She blushed again. “Yeah, I like your family. They’re all so nice!”

“To you maybe. To me? Not so much.”

“You know you love them!”

“Maybe a bit, but they’ll never know that.”

The car stopped as they arrived at the Manor.

She looked up at the spires out the window, and immediately grabbed her travel sketchbook out of her purse. “Damian, how did I not notice those when I first came? Those spires are amazing!”

“You were probably just nervous about dinner.”

As she finished her design, she realized that everyone else had already gone inside, and saw Damian looking at her softly. “Sorry Damian. I got caught up in my designing, but I guess you already know about that..”

He laughed as they started to walk inside. “Two hours! It wasn’t that bad, besides, I found the shop for that necklace along the way. Anyway, I got this as my reward.” He showed her the picture they took.

“Ooh, Damian! Can we take another before we go inside? I want to have one in this dress and you in your suit.”

“Sure thing, Angel.”

They took one with smiles, and then she held up her phone, and right before she clicked the button, she kissed his cheek. 

The picture looked perfect. Damian’s flush and her lipstick almost matched. She giggled at the expression on his face.

His flush was still there as they walked into the house. Everyone was gathered in the foyer. Jason decided to tease him a little. “Baby Bird, you got a little something right there!”

He wiped his cheek and flushed lightly. “Angel!” She just giggled at him.

“Sorry Damian, but it was worth it for this picture.”

“What picture?”

“This one, Mr- um, Dick!”

They whole group came to look at the phone, and then began laughing at Damian’s expense. He scowled. “Ha ha, very funny. Can you put that away?”

TIm caught his breath. “Can you send that to me? I need that as my homescreen.”

“Sorry, I don’t have your number. Plus, I don’t want Dami mad at me..”

He glared at Tim, and then turned to Marinette, “Please don’t. They’ll tease me enough. I really don’t need them having actual photos.”

Selina turned to her. “Marinette, darling can you tell me more about your clothes?”

“Sure! So um, I started this dress about three months ago. I wanted something that I could wear to fancier things, since Uncle Jagged had wanted me to start coming with him to like, award ceremonies and stuff.”

“You’re his personal designer, correct?”

“Yup! I had to do other commissions and things to buy the fabric, but I was able to pour almost all my time into it!”

Jason had noticed a few things since he had met her, and wanted answers. So he popped a question in.

“Didn’t you have school?”

Her smile fell for a moment, before she plastered it back on and continued. It went unnoticed by no one.

“Um, my school just got out for summer break, but I have plenty of alone time to get work done. Anyway! The dress itself was done in about a week, but the flowers took forever! I stabbed myself with a needle more times than I can count, but it was worth it.”

“It sure was Angel. It looks beautiful on you.”

She blushed again. "Damiannn!"

Some of the group broke off momentarily, leaving the boys, and Marinette in the living room. As they reached the couches, Jason inputted loudly, "This is where Pixie-Pop kicked my ass!" Everyone looked shocked at this.

"Pixie-Pop?"

"You're tiny, and you just popped right back up."

"Wait a minute. You kicked Jason's ass?" He looked to Jason for confirmation. "And he wasn't going easy?"

She nodded hesitantly. "I think I just surprised him. He probably just didn't want to mess up my dress."

"In a dress? Do you have a troubled past?"

She scowled for a moment thinking of Lila and her class, then smoothed out her expression and gave a fake laugh. "Just the normal teenage girl troubles I think."

Dick looked concerned. "Like what?"

"Just bullies and friendship drama. That stuff."

Everyone's faces darkened a bit at the way her expression dropped and then brightened immediately. "But now, I have much better friends! I have Luka, Kagami, and Adrien. Speaking of, Damian, can I introduce you to them later?"

"Sure thing Angel, I would love to meet your friends. But what's the name of this bully?"

She answered without hesitation. "Bullies. Actually, bully. Chloe is a lot better now. And I'm not so sure. I know that voice, and you want to hurt them. If Kagami could use her sword, I'm not letting you either."

Damian was impressed. He might enjoy meeting this Kagami. “Angel..”

“Nope! All you need to know is that those are my friends. No one else.” Lila had tried before to lie her way into a Jagged Stone concert with Marinette’s name, and she wouldn’t let that happen to these nice people.

Jason gave her a serious look. “We’ll stay out of it for now, but if it gets worse, I’m getting on a plane to Paris, Cupcake.”

At the familiar nickname, everything clicked into place for Marinette. She paled and stumbled back a step. As she turned to look at Damian, she noticed the familiar build, and her eyes rolled back.

“ANGEL!” Damian barely caught her before she fell to the ground.

He took her pulse and relaxed.

“Jason, what did you do?!” Bruce demanded.

“Nothing! You were right there! I offered help, and she looked at me, then Demon Spawn, and fainted!”

Her eyes fluttered open. “Angel! Are you okay? What happened?”

“D-Damian?”

Everything came flooding back to her. She flung her arms around his neck, and whispered in his ear, “Robin?”

Everyone was watching the scene in concern, and then suspicion as Damian tensed and paled a bit. 

He helped her up, and then he led her into another room and shut the door.

“What are they doing?”

They heard Marinette whispering furiously, but couldn’t make out her words. Tim grabbed a listening device out of his pocket. They all leaned towards it.

“How do you know I’m Robin? What gave it away?”

“Jason called me Cupcake, and then I noticed his build was the same, and it all came together when I looked at you.”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

“I would never Damian! I, of all people would know the importance of a secret identity!”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how I told you and Jason about the akumas on my first night here?”

“Yes…”

“Remember Ladybug?”

“That’s you?!”

The battles he had seen on the cave’s computer flashed through his head. “You jumped into a T-Rex’s mouth!”

“And you died!”

“So?!”

“So you can’t talk! You don’t have a magic suit to protect you!”

“I’ve been trained since I could walk! Also, I’m not fighting things that can level the Eiffel Tower in one swing!”

“That was only a few times!”

“Next attack, I’m coming with you.”

“Damian, you can’t! That’s too dangerous!” A realization came to her. “Oh no.. Bruce is Batman isn’t he? And Mr. Grayson is Nightwing, Kor’i is Starfire, Tim is Red Robin?”

“How did you just figure that out?”

“I’m a designer! I know measurements, and builds. Plus, Tim was a fanboy.”

“Still, we can hide that from everyone else, but a designer figured us out!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Wait.” He made the symbol for keeping quiet, and opened the door.

Jason and Tim fell through, while Bruce stayed standing behind them.

Before they could start talking, she put a hand up. “I won’t tell anyone, and as I’m sure you all heard, I’m Ladybug. And Jason, now that I know, you are DEFINITELY not going to Paris to talk to any of my classmates.”

“Wait, Pixie-Pop, you’re a superhero?”

Tikki and Kaalki chose this moment to pop out of her dress pockets. “Hi! I’m Tikki, and this is Kaalki! I give Marinette her powers. Technically, her identity is supposed to be a secret,” Marinette gave a sheepish look. “but she needs people she can actually depend on.”

The boys and Bruce were shocked into silence. Damian had thought he couldn’t be shocked any more tonight. He was wrong. First, his girlfriend was a superhero, and then, she had little creature with her the whole night? And they gave her a magical suit to fight an evil butterfly man!

Wait.

“Actually depend on?”

“Seriously Damian? Out of all that she just said, that’s what you got?”

He shrugged, and then held out his finger to both of them to shake. “Damian. Are you always with her?”

“Yep!”

“Then you can tell me about this bully.”

“Damian!”

“Her name is Lila Rossi. She is a manipulative liar, and has almost gotten Marinette expelled. She destroyed all her friendships, and as a result, Rena Rouge and Carapace are no longer heroes.”

He nodded solemnly.

“Tikki! Why did you do that?”

“They needed to know.”

“They?” She turned and put her head in her hands at what she saw. “Merde!”

Jason had somehow acquired a gun, and had a dark look on his face. Tim had his phone in hand, and was scowling at it. Bruce looked mildly surprised, and the rest of the group seemed to have overheard the last bit.

Kor’i spoke first. “It is lovely to meet you, little Kwami!”

Tikki smiled at her, while the rest of the group looked at her with confused looks. 

She explained. “Tamaran knows of magic, and the miraculouses are very powerful artifacts. Does the Justice League not know of them?” At the mention of the miraculouses, Marinette reached for her earrings.

“Um, no Kor’i. We certainly did not.”

“Also what was this about bullies? I do not like bullies.”

Marinette gave a nervous laugh. “Um, why don’t we go back to the living room?”

They gathered themselves, and headed to the living room. As Marinette turned to leave, Damian grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug. “Damian? What is this for?”

“You’re alive. Please don’t do anything like the T-Rex again.”

“Damian. I know you know how dangerous this job is. I can’t always promise that!”

“I get it. I do. But please try to at least be careful.”

“Alright.”

With that, they headed into the living room. 

The whole group turned to look at her, and Selina had a knife? Marinette looked at her build, and groaned.

“You’re Catwoman, aren’t you?”

Selina gave a sly smile. “I like you.”

At that, Marinette began to explain the situation in Paris. As she finished, Jason stood up with his gun. “I’m going to Paris.”

Marinette jumped to her feet. “No you are not!”

“Yes I am. I’m going to finish off Mothman, and then I’m going to have words with whoever gave a couple of kids the responsibility to protect a whole city!”

“You most certainly are not! Me and Chat have enough to do fighting civilians, and I am NOT fighting a trained assassin!”

“Alright, but I’m still helping.”

Damian felt more in love than he did at the beginning of the night. His Angel was a superhero too? She was amazing!

She continued. “Also, with all due respect Bruce, but all of your costumes are awful. Except Selina and Dick. You both have a very sleek and simple design to yours, and I can respect that. Personally, I like Selina’s more, because it reminds me of my Kitty. Dick, I like your logo. I’m redesigning the rest of them for you. Free of charge, of course.”

Dick and Selina looked pleased. Bruce looked at her appraisingly, and then gave Damian an impressed look. Damian, however was caught on one thing.

“My Kitty?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “He’s my best friend, nothing more. We’re not like that, promise.”

He considered this, and acquiesced. “Wait. What’s wrong with my suit?”

She looked almost offended for a second. “What’s wrong with your suit?! For starters, Traffic Light Boy, the cape is completely unnecessary! It could get caught on something, and it restricts movement. No matter how good you think you are, the extra fabric serves no purpose, except to make it harder for you to access anything at your back! The coloring is awful! The hood I understand a bit, for if its raining or something, but the cap does not have to be attached! Speaking of hoods!” She turned on Jason. “Your name is Red Hood, non? Then why is it a helmet? And the helmet itself is awful! It looks like a red jelly bean! I’m not even going to start on the first version of that.” Here, she finally calmed down a bit, and looked around her.

Damian looked thoroughly offended, Bruce had a thoughtful look on his face, Tim and Dick were muffling laughter, and Jason was full-on laughing. Selina had a pleased smile. Kor’i looked amused.

“Kor’i, please let me do your suit first.”

“What is wrong with my suit?”

Marinette took a deep breath and started in on it. “It covers like no part of you. Not only is it a skirt, which is not good for aerial work for multiple reasons, it also is exposed to the elements! The colors are at least better than Damian or Tim’s,” Tim stopped laughing. “but your stomach is completely vulnerable! I know that you’re alien, and probably have stronger durability than the rest of us, but that still makes no sense! Why would you leave yourself open like that? Also, why is your hair down? You should put it in a ponytail or something so it doesn’t fly into your face mid fight. Lastly, I love your eyes.”

Kor’i processes all of this for a moment, then replied with, “I didn’t even think of any of that. You most definitely have my permission to redesign it! Also, I like your eyes as well.”

Jason, who had been silent for a while, suddenly piped up with a, “Please go off on Bruce too!”

She suddenly seemed to realize what she had done and looked sheepish. “Sorry. I got caught up in the moment. It happens sometimes when I’m doing something for my designs.”

Damian responded to this. “Yes, it certainly does.”

“Would you let that go?”

“No.”

Tim looked between the two with a wide grin. “What happened?”

Damian smirked at Marinette. She put her head in her hands. “Angel here dragged me around town for two hours. Literally. We were eating, she started talking about shoes, grabbed my hand, and pulled me around stores for two hours, until she found these.”

She suddenly looked up at him and grinned. “Would you all like to see a picture?”

He paled. “Angel no!”

“Pixie-Pop yes!”

She pulled up the photo. It was the one she had taken right before they came into the Manor. She was kissing Damian's cheek, and he was red as her suit, and had a flabbergasted expression. The ex-robins all laughed. 

Bruce smiled at the photo of his youngest. This girl was good for him.

Marinette tried to speak between giggles. "I-I'm just lucky you don't have any embarrassing photos of me!"

"That's because it's not possible. You can't take a bad picture."

She flushed hard as she calmed down.

"Damiaaan."

"If you get to show them that, I get to say good things about you."

She opened her mouth to protest, but yawned instead.

As if by magic, Alfred appeared.

She jumped. "Oh hi Alfred!"

"Marinette, your clothes are in the guest room next to Master Damian's."

The whole room gaped. He called her Marinette? They had all been trying to get him to just use their names for years! The group remained silent to learn her secrets.

Damian stood and offered a hand. "Angel, I'll show you the way."

Jason was going to make a comment, but decided against it. 

The two headed upstairs.


	11. Chapter Eleven

She had spent about thirty minutes in Damian's room before she headed into her own. They had defined their relationship, and boundaries. Right now they were okay with hugs and holding hands, and when their first kiss came, they wanted it to be natural, and not forced. They hugged goodnight, and she went to her room.

At about five in the morning, Marinette woke with a scream on her tongue. Dreams of past akumas, and what could happen if she failed.

Somehow, Tikki and Kaalki had stayed asleep. She checked her phone's clock and knew there was no way she would be getting back to sleep. She shut off the alarms that were set, and went to find the kitchen. If she stayed the night, the least she could do was make breakfast.

It took her a good fifteen minutes to find the kitchen. The Manor was huge! Once she found the kitchen, she had to find the supplies she needed. She set up her music playlist and got to work. 

What she didn’t know, was that Alfred had seen her, the redness to her eyes, and knew that she needed this. So he went off to set the table.

When Damian woke up around six-thirty, he knocked on Marinette’s door. She had mentioned that she was a heavy sleeper, so he wasn’t too worried. He headed down to the kitchen.

As he neared the table, he heard angelic singing from the kitchen. Was that Marinette? It had to be. He walked in and was in awe.

Marinette was literally dancing around the kitchen while singing a French song. She had piles of bacon and pancakes. Marinette pulled a tray out of the oven, and twirled as she flipped a pancake, and then finally noticed him. “What are you doing up?”

“Me? It’s still only- oh."

"I thought you were a late sleeper."

"I am! I just woke up earlier, and couldn't go back to sleep. By the way, this house is way too big!"

Damian finally noticed the bags and puffiness around her eyes.

"Nightmares?"

"How'd you know?"

"Angel. My whole family is made up superheroes. Me and Todd have literally died. I know nightmares."

"Oh. Yeah, it was a nightmare."

He gave her a hug. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm not the best with emotion and things like that, but I'll try."

She smiled up at him. "I'm fine Damian. I'm going to go get dressed, and then I'll be back down. I think I'm going to let the kwamii sleep though."

She turned to walk out, and spun on her heel. "Also, how did Alfred have everything I needed?"

He shrugged. "He's Pennyworth."

She considered this. "Fair."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

As Marinette started placing the plates around the table, she noticed the absence of his brothers and Kor'i.

"Hey Damian? Where are Kori and your brothers?"

"Oh. I'm not sure where Todd is, Kor'i and Grayson probably went home." 

Tim stumbled in and bolted straight for the coffee maker. He guzzled three mugs before he turned back around.

Marinette watched this, and realized he had dark bags under his eyes. "Oh. Insomniac?"

"Something like that."

"I'm the same way."

"You don't seem like a night owl, but you didn't seem like a super either, so that's understandable. Did you make all this? I would ask Damian, but he can't make eggs to save his life."

Damian glared at her. 

"Yes I did! There's pancakes and bacon, along with some fruit tarts."

Bruce piped up. "How did you have the time to make all this? And without Alfred knowing?"

Alfred responded with "I always know what goes on in this house. At the very least, her coping habits are much healthier than all of yours."

They all laughed and sat down to eat.

"Oh my, Marinette! These tarts are delicious!"

"Little D, she's a keeper."

Even Alfred seemed impressed with the fruit tarts.

"Where did you learn to do all this?"

"Oh, um, my parents own a bakery, so I've been baking as long as I can remember."

"I forgot about that."

"Um Dami? I don't think I mentioned that.."

He looked sheepish. "I may have had a file on you since we first met with me as Robin?"

"Let me guess. It's a Batman thing?"

Selina laughed at that. "Darling, you should have seen Bruce's file on me. Damian is much milder than say, Tim."

The group shared another laugh. Marinette wasn't sure why she was so at ease with these people, but she felt like she had known them all her life. 

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. 

🐊Uncle Jagged🎸: Marinette, I have rehearsal late tonight, and Penny and I won't make dinner. You should enjoy the time with your new boyfriend and his family. I have some extra backstage passes if you want them.

She smiled as she gave a reply.

My Favorite Niece: Thank you Uncle Jagged! Tim will love this.

🐊Uncle Jagged🎸: Is that the one that wanted a picture with me?

My Favorite Niece: Yup! I'm at breakfast, so I'll text you later!

She whispered the news into Damian's ear, and his lips curled into a sly smirk. 

"Tell him, I want to see this."

"Hey, um Tim?"

"Hmm?"

"How would you like some backstage passes to Uncle Jagged's concert here?"

He gave another hum in response, but seemed to realize what just happened. He slowly turned to face her with wide eyes. Tim opened his mouth to reply, but instead, a shrill squeak came out.

She couldn't hold it anymore. She doubled over laughing at his reaction. Damian snapped a picture, and sent it to her.

"W-what?"

She calmed down, and tried to reply nonchalantly. "Uncle Jagged had some extra backstage passes, and I was wondering if any of you were interested. I was thinking Dick, Kor'i, Jason, Damian, Alfred, Bruce, and Selina. Do you want to come too? There's eight tickets…."

"Of course I want to come! When, where, and what should I wear?"

She giggled a bit at him. "Just your everyday clothes, and what about the rest of you?"

She was met with affirmatives from the whole table. 

Bruce spoke after everyone else. "Thank you Marinette. lts very kind of you, and Dick just let me know that he and Kor'i would love to come."

She gave them all the date and location. "Penny will meet you all at the back entrance an hour before the concert."

"Wait, Angel, what about you?"

"Well, I'm his personal designer. So I'm doing things in the background."

"So you don't get to watch the show?"

"There's a monitor on the side, plus, this is the only real work I have to do all summer. He says that it was because he needed my help to make him look 'rock-n-roll', but I think he just wanted me out of Paris for a while."

Damian's face darkened at the reminder of her bullies. 

The rest of breakfast continued jovially, and they all separated to get to their tasks. Bruce bad a meeting, Selina disappeared, and Tim had to attend with Bruce, so it was just Damian and Marinette.

After talking for a bit, they decided to spar for a bit in the cave. They changed, and the couple headed to the batcave.

After a twenty minute tour of the cave, (Marinette kept getting sidetracked) they started stretching.

As with everything good in life, it became a competition. They started going into more and more elaborate stretches, until Damian finally couldn't go any further.

"Fine. You win this time, Angel. I'm pretty sure that only Grayson is more flexible than you."

"Oh. I think I heard about that. He grew up in the circus, right?"

"Yup. His parents were acrobats before they died."

"That's awful."

They moved to the sparring ring. (I'm not even going to try to describe the fighting they did. I can't write fight scenes at all.) It took awhile, but Damian ended up pinning her. They both were flushed and sweating with exertion. After that, they headed up for showers, and then moved back to the kitchen for sustenance.

Damian watched in awe as Marinette whipped out two chicken fricassee dishes.

They ate companionably, and she asked to go for a walk outside.

It went well for a while, until she noticed a pack of water balloons hidden behind a bush near a faucet. (Shamelessly copying pieces of Revenge is Sweet.) She made an excuse to sketch in the grass, and Damian went inside to grab a glass of water. 

She hurried to fill them up, and as she saw him coming back her way, she lobbed one at his head.

He completely missed it coming his way, and was shocked when she soaked his whole head and chest. "Angel?!" His head whipped towards her, and he lunged for the pile of balloons she had next to her.

She rolled out of the way just in time, but he grabbed the rest of the balloons. He hurled three of them at Marinette, but only two hit her. She made a dash for a tree to hide behind, but he flung two more at her until she was thoroughly wet. 

She turned and charged at him. He dodged, but she wasn't aiming for him.

Marinette grabbed the hose, and in one smooth movement, she turned it on and hosed him down.

He turned and gave her a wet, cold hug, which made her squeal and fall onto the grass, dragging him with her. They laughed for a minute or two, until he finally asked what was confusing him.

"You deserved that. Where did you even get those?"

"They were behind that bush over there. Also, I'm so glad I left my phone inside."

He grimaced. "That would not have gone well."

The new couple laid out in the grass together until the sun went down.

They separated to shower for dinner, and then headed back down for dinner with the rest of the family.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Jason had made a few suggestive remarks about both of their hair being wet, but they managed to ward him off. Tikki and Kaalki finally came down to dinner. It turns out they had used Kaalki's power to go back to Paris to hang out in the miracle Box with the other kwamii when Marinette had told them to relax for the day.

As dinner was wrapping up, Marinette received a request for a video call. It was from the group chat with Luka, Kagami, and Adrien. She left the table, and Damian followed.

As she opened the call, she was bombarded with hellos.

"Marinette!"

"Hello Mari-hime!"

"Hey Ma-Ma-Marinette!"

"Hey guys!"

They talked for a few minutes, before Kagami broke the ice.

"So Mari-hime, when were you going to tell us you got a boyfriend?"

"B-boyfriend?"

"Is it official? We saw the Gala on the news. You haven't looked at anyone like that in years."

"Yes Luka. I told Maman and Papa last night. It's official- oh there he is! Damian come meet my friends!"

He was stiff as he walked over to her and snaked an arm around her waist. "Hello."

"Hmm. What are your intentions with Mari-hime?"

"Kagami!"

"I have to know if I need to run him through with my sword."

At that, Damian cracked a small smile. "I like you Ms. Tsurugi. My only intentions with Marinette are to treat as she deserves, and to protect her."

By this point, Marinette's head was in her hands, and she was red as her suit.

Kagami gave him a questioning look. "Protect her?"

He scowled darkly. "From Rossi and her cronies."

Marinette interjected. "Tikki told him! I didn't."

Adrien had mostly been silent, but now he butted in. "Still Bugaboo, you need someone that can protect you." He turned to Damian and made a sour face. "I try when I can, but Father is making me play nice with Lila."

"And Luka has tried, but she is very stubborn."

"Anyway, I'm just waiting till next year, and then I can leave them behind forever!"

"Angel, why don't you just transfer now?"

"Well, I spoke with my parents last night, and we just don't have the money to go anywhere else right now."

Damian's face turned contemplating, and then switched back to normal.

Kagami noticed this and gave her approval.

Marinette turned to him and beamed. "Luka, Adrien?"

Luka nodded. "His heartsong has love for you. I approve." He gave Damian a look of understanding and sympathy.

Damian was a little surprised, and a bit creeped out. Marinette had told him about his 'ability'. He hadn't taken it seriously, but maybe he should have.

"Adrien?"

"Mari, you know I can read you the best out of any of us. I can see it in your eyes. I give my full appurr-oval."

She groaned at the pun, and then wrapped up the call.

They went back to the table, Damian with a look of satisfaction at her choice in friends, and in their approval, not that he'd ever tell anyone that. Marinette was almost glowing with happiness.

"What happened, Pixie-Pop?"

"My friends fully approve of me and Damian! That was really important to me, so I'm glad we have it."

The whole family was wary of the look on Damian's face. That was the face he made when he wanted something, and knew he would be getting it.

Bruce pulled him aside after dinner. "Damian. I know that look. What are you planning?"

"Marinette needs to change schools."

"Damian…"

"No. Just listen. She wants to change schools, but her parents don't have the money to send her anywhere else right before she goes off to university. I alone have more than enough money."

"You can't just make her uproot her life."

"I never said anything about moving her to Gotham. She can choose anywhere she wants. I'm going to speak with her parents about it."

"Fine. But if they don't approve, it stops."

"Deal."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

After Marinette left, Damian had ended up placing the call around midnight. Luckily, bakers woke early.

It was about six o'clock when Sabine picked up the bakery phone.

"Is this the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie?"

"Yes, this is Sabine speaking. How may I help you?"

"I'm calling regarding your daughter."

"Is she okay? Who is this?"

"I forgot to introduce myself, it seems. I am Damian Wayne."

He face lit up. "Oh! You're her new boyfriend! You have no idea how excited she was when she called Tom and I last night to tell us the news!"

Damian blushed a bit and cleared his throat. "Um...right. Well, she was talking to her friends on the phone earlier tonight, and she made a comment that I took notice of."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I am well aware of the situation with Ms. Rossi, and I would like to offer a solution."

"What is it? I would just love to get her out of that horrible school!"

"I am offering your daughter the opportunity to go anywhere she likes for the next year of high school, and for her college years. I'm not asking for her to come to Gotham. Not that I'd mind! I just want her to be able to choose. She's a wonderful girl, and she deserves anything I could possibly even give her."

Sabine put a hand over her mouth. "Tom! Get in here!"

"What happened? Is it an akuma?"

"Listen to this."

She passed the phone over to her husband, and Damian explained the situation again.

Finally Tom spoke. "Have you talked to her about it yet?"

There was a pause. "No, I have not. I wished to get your blessing first before she got her hopes up."

Sabine and Tom held a silent conversation before Sabine answered him. "Damian, we would be insane to turn this down. If she says yes, this would be a fantastic opportunity for her."

"Thank you Mme. Cheng, M. Dupain. I'll talk to her first thing in the morning."

"No, thank you son. You're doing all this for our little girl."

They hung up.   
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Damian was a bit nervous about how to bring it up to her, but decided to go with the blunt option.

When they met the next morning he went for it. "Angel? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

He suddenly grew nervous. What if she said no? What if she didn't like him meddling in her affairs?

No.

He started stiffly. "Marinette."

She straightened at the use of her actual name.

"When you were talking to your friends over the phone yesterday, I had an idea."

"What idea?" She asked warily.

"You are aware of the fact that you would be returning to Lyceé François Dupont when the summer ends?"

"Yes..I don't really want to, but it's only for one year."

"What if you could go anywhere you wanted for your last year, and then for university?"

She was shocked. She thought he might be breaking up with her or something, but not this. What was he even talking about?

"Wha-what?"

"I have already spoken to your parents, and they agreed if you were interested. You could pick any school you wanted. I don't want you anywhere near Rossi." He spat the name like a curse.

"Wait. Let me get this straight. You're offering to pay for my last year of high school, and college?!"

"Yes."

"Damian. I can't just take advantage of you like that!"

"It's not taking advantage of me if I'm offering. Plus, your parents already agreed."

"You talked to them?"

"Well, yes. I wanted their blessing before I asked you."

She thought about it for a moment. "I'll accept this on one condition."

"What condition?"

"I'm paying some now, and the rest later. This would just be..a loan of sorts. I make plenty from commissions, and I have money in my savings account."

He smirked. She was not going to be paying for this. "Deal."

"Deal."


	13. Chapter Thirteen

After a short freakout with the kwamii, Marinette had promptly called her parents, and then started looking for a new school.

She looked everywhere. Paris, New York, even there in Gotham.

Just as she was clicking out of some of the links she had saved, she remembered who she was.

Ughhh.

Marinette smacked a hand over her face. She couldn't leave Paris! As much as she wanted a fresh start somewhere else, she had to fight akumas.

Stupid Hawkmoth. She wouldn't even be a minor in two months.

She could go anywhere she wanted, but those stupid butterflies made her stay in Paris!

The young designer flopped backwards onto her bed with a groan.

"What's wrong Marinette?"

"I was so excited to leave Paris and start over, but then I remembered that I can't leave the city!"

"Why?"

"I'm Ladybug! I have to fight Hawkmoth."

She closed her eyes.

"And?"

"And what? I can't leave."

"Marinette.. you're not even in Paris right now."

Oh.

"But-but I still can't just use Kaalki forever!"

"I would allow that. Just go speak to Master Fu." And with that, the kwami of teleportation opened a portal to Fu's shop.

Tikki raced through, and Marinette had no choice but to follow.

"Master Fu?"

"Hello Ladybug. What troubles you?"

"Um, well, as you know, I'm only a minor for a few more months, and I got this great offer to move anywhere I want for school, but I can't accept! Tikki and Kaalki are just being stubborn." She glared at the tiny pony, who was nibbling at a sugar cube.

"Why not?"

"I'm Ladybug!"

"Why does that apply here?"

"Because I can't just leave! I have a duty to this city, and I can't just abandon Paris!"

"Marinette."

She turned to face him from where she had been pacing the floor.

"I'm afraid that fighting akuma is not quite as well-paying as an actual career. You cannot be Ladybug forever. One day, Hawkmoth will fall, and you need to have something to return to. You need to go to school, and not here. This environment is not healthy for you, and you and I both know that if you are akumatized, it would almost certainly spell disaster."

"Yes, but Master-"

"No buts Marinette. You will be the next Guardian, but you deserve to have a life outside of the Miraculous."

Tikki flew over and nuzzled her cheek. "I told you Marinette!"

"Now, what schools were you looking at?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe New York, and that I could accept that internship under Mme. Bourgeois, but I'm not sure if I want to work under her. I want to make my own name, you know? And then I started looking more into America, and Gotham Academy and Gotham University have great programs."

"And it's close to Damian!"

"Shush Tikki!" 

"Is that the boy from the Gala?"

She flapped her arms around her face. "You saw that?"

He gave a wry smile.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Marinette finally went back through the portal. After spending a few hours with Master Fu, she felt much calmer, and had narrowed down her options. Either NYU, or Gotham University, but she was certain she wanted to go to high school closer to home. She couldn't just leave her friends behind with no warning!

After a video chat with her friends, and then later her parents, she felt much better about that as well.

Apparently, they had already spoken to Nonna, and she would be willing to come to wherever she chose to stay with her. They couldn't just leave the bakery to come after her, no matter how much they wanted to. It just wasn't feasible.

Where should she choose?

Damian could help!

She opened her laptop again, and called him.

"Angel? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I was trying to figure out where to go for my last year of, what is Lyceé in English? I can't remember."

He chuckled. "It's high school."

"Alright. Well, where should I go? For university, I want to go to either NYU or Gotham University."

"Well, they both have good programs. I'm going to Gotham University, if that's what you're asking. I need to stay nearby, you know why."

"Yes!" She pumped her fist. "Alright! I'm staying in Gotham!"

Damian startled. "Angel, you don't have to stay in Gotham, you could literally go anywhere you wanted!"

"I know that! But, I talked to Master Fu, and he agreed with me on this. There's so much misfortune in this city, and I'm Lady Luck. I can fix the balance!"

Damian's eyes went wide. "Wha-what? That's why the crime rate is so high?! Misfortune?!"

Marinette beamed at him. "Well, that's part of it. The city honestly just had a high crime rate, but the little things are mostly misfortune. Too much fortune, and it takes from other places, too much misfortune, and well-" She waved her hands around. "But like, a breakout at Arkham happening at the same time as something else bad? That's misfortune."

"How come no one else knew about this?"

"Well, Tikki here, is literally the embodiment of luck, and I'm her holder, so.."

"Whoa. Can I tell Father about this? Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Yes, and I'm not really sure. Honestly, me just being here will help."

Damian rubbed a hand over his face. "Let me just send this recording to the cave."

"Alright! I think I should go. I have to grab lunch with Aunt Penny and Uncle Jagged."

"Bye Angel."

She hopped out of her chair and stretched. Maybe she could patrol tonight? She was going to get rusty.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Marinette was a bit nervous. This would be her first patrol with Damian's family! She had called him again a few hours after she had decided where to go, and he had agreed.

So, the whole family was out tonight.

She grabbed her duffel out of the car, bid goodbye to Penny, and swiftly walked inside.

Jagged and Penny thought she was simply sleeping over.

As soon as she got inside, she headed to the cave to meet up with the group.

"Angel! Are you sure you want to do this?"

Marinette gave him an exasperated look. "I wouldn't have mentioned it if I didn't. Plus, I want to see how you guys do this."

"Yes, but-"

"No buts! If you're worried about me getting hurt, you know I can take care of myself. I've literally wrestled a dragon. I'll be fine."

He processed her words and blanched. "A dragon?"

"Was that one not online? I thought that would be online.. Anyway, Jagged got akumatized, and Fang changed into a dragon. I lassoed it, and Chat and I took him down. Can we just get ready?"

He walked to his suit. "Alright. I'll be right back. Not all of us can use miraculouses."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and headed over to talk with the others.

When Damian came back, she was already transformed, but she now had a black poncho-like cowl, and was pulling something off her yo-yo.

"Angel, what is that?"

"It's a communicator! It can tap into your system, so I can be connected too. Plus, I won't have to waste one of those."

Tim looked almost in awe. "What can it not do?"

"Well, it can't give me flight, but it comes close."

"Whoa.."

She felt her hair. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Ladybug reached into her yo-yo, pulled out a simple black mask, and put it on over her original disguise.

"It can store things? That's useful."

"It sure is! Unlimited space too."

"Why are you wearing all that over your suit, Habibiti?"

She decided to ignore the nickname for now, and ask later. "Well, I don't exactly want Hawkmoth to know I'm here, and not Paris, so a disguise seemed like a good option."

Meanwhile, Jason started to smirk from the side. Habibiti? He had it bad. It would be fun to tease him later.

Before the group knew it, they were setting out for the city.

As soon as they made it to the start point, Marinette unleashed her yo-yo, and slung it to the nearest rooftop.

Damian went after her immediately, and the two began a game of chase, all the while stopping petty crimes and snarking at each other and the rest of the family.

It was the best patrol Marinette had ever been on. 

Sure, going with Adrien was fun, but she was having far more fun than she had ever had before. Her and Damian were fluid in their movements, and were in perfect sync. 

Even the others had to admit how good they were, and how happy Damian seemed.

It was a great night.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

The next morning, Marinette had to leave early to work on a few things for the concert.

She had made the perfect outfit for Jagged.

He was in all black. Jacket, combat boots, even the guitar, except for his pants.

They were a total purple, and it brought the whole outfit together.

As she embroidered the final detailing on the jacket pocket, Tikki flew up to her face.

"Marinette! There's an akuma! We have to get back."

She set down her project, and called for the two transformations.

"Tikki, spots on! Tikki, Kaalki, merge!"

She dialed Damian through the yo-yo, filled him in as promised, and called for Voyage.

As she jumped through the portal, a flash of red flew past her.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all probably noticed, but I just had to reconfigure all of my chapters. I accidentally forgot to post Chapter Twelve, and I ended up skipping it. So, here is the new and improved Fate Goes Both Ways!

Ladybug heard a battle cry, and heard a shout of, “LADYBUG!” before she was being tackled to the side by Chat.

They rolled to a stop, and she began to analyse the situation. Adrien was about to scold her for being so careless, but he saw the look on her face, and knew she was in Ladybug-mode, and wouldn’t care about it.

As she stood, and began to detail the plan, a beam of light shone right in front of them, and Batman, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin all stepped through.

Marinette pumped her fist, and instantly reconfigured her plan.

“Good to see you guys. This one is pretty run-of-the-mill, just a minion akuma. So, I need Red Hood and Chat to distract Fairytale, Viperion on that roof with second chance, just in case, Red Robin, I want you with Viperion. Batman and Ryukko, you two will be sneaking up on her to grab the object, while Robin and I will be fighting her head-on until we figure out her object.”

Each hero broke off, and the Bats gave each other a significant look, before Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin shrugged as if to say, ‘her city, her fight’.

The akuma had a short, watermelon-red dress with a tulle skirt, glass kitten-heels, and was shooting glittery beams out of her right hand. The beams turned those unlucky enough to be nearby into different characters from classic tales, but the worst part of her outfit was her face. It had makeup reminiscent of a jester, and it made the designer in Marinette want to cry. 

Fairytale was about to start her monologue, when Red Hood and Chat Noir started taunting, and Robin and Ladybug started to beat her to a pulp.

“Hey Little Bo Peep! What’s with the face? Gonna try to scare me into giving up?”

She screeched in rage, dodged the next set of blows from the two, and shot a few beams at him in quick succession. The last one hit him, turning him into a giant playing card.

“Red Hood!”

Ladybug made a signal to Chat, and reassured the others over the comms.

“Hey Little Rude Riding Hood! You want my miraculous? Come and get it!” Chat leapt onto the nearest rooftop, before using his baton to whack her off the side, and into the street hard enough to create a crater.

The rest of the Bats seemed stunned for a moment at his strength, before quickly regaining their wits.

“I know what the object is! Batman, I need you to shoot a grappling hook around her, and Ryukko, I need a water dragon to get those shoes!”

Within a minute, the heels were dropped into Ladybugs hand, who quickly broke them, and purified the akuma.

As Jason rematerialized where the card had been, the whole family rushed over to him, while the Parisian heroes went to comfort the victim.

The group gave each other a fist-bump, and split off except Ladybug who first helped the victim gather herself, and then went over to check in with them.

“Red Hood? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But that was some freaky shit.”

She snickered. “I guess it was, but honestly, I’m glad that was what we dealt with.”

Damian’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m never grateful for an akuma, but if that was what we dealt with, I’m happy. That was relatively easy.”

The frown immediately morphed into an expression of admiration and worry.

Before they could say anything else, she spoke again. “I’m going to meet up with my team, since I’m here anyway.” She paused to kiss Damian on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you tonight. Thanks for the help.”

“It’s not a problem Ladybug.”

She gave Bruce a nod, and then swung up to a nearby building and disappeared from sight.

The whole family moved to the point where the tube dropped them off, and called for a return trip.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

After she talked with her friends, she decided to just head straight to the Manor. The portal lead straight to the front door.

Alfred opened the door. "The others are in the cave."

"Thanks Alfred!"

The first thing she did was hug Damian, but the second was to check on Jason again.

"Jason, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine Pixie-Pop."

Bruce walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Marinette, how are you?"

She gave him a confused look. "What?"

"I asked, how are you?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? That was one of the easiest akumas I've fought in a very long time."

"Really Angel?"

"Well, yeah. I didn't even have to use my lucky charm.."

"Oh, and Angel? I've almost finished the paperwork for you to transfer."

"Thank you Dami!" She threw her arms around his neck.

"It wasn't an issue, it should be done by the end of the week."

She positively beamed at him. "Can we please spar? I have way too much energy after that akuma." At this, the rest of the group turned to them.

He smirked at her. "After you."

Jason announced loudly, "I bet a hundred that Pixie-Pop wins!"

Tim agreed. "Deal. I bet that Damian will win. Sorry Marinette."

"Perfectly fine, Tim. But Jason is about to be a hundred dollars richer." She walked onto the mat in her tank top and shorts combo.

The match began slowly, as they both tried to get a read on the other, but it soon grew fast-paced, and the moves started getting more intense. Nearing the end of the match, Marinette flipped off the railing, and tried to land a kick on his head, but Damian rolled out of the way just in time. He spun and lunged for her torso, but she dodged and finally tackled him to the ground, pinning him.

They were both sweating and grinning like maniacs when they heard a whoop from Jason and a groan from Tim.

"I told you Pixie-Pop would kick his ass!"

"He's supposed to be the Prince of Assassins!"

"She fought a dragon. A dragon!"

"Still!"

"Just give me my money, Replacement."

"Here! And stop calling me that!" 

As the two started bickering, Marinette helped Damian up, and then they went up to his room to work on the transfer forms.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concert is finally here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I didn't know how I wanted to go about the concert and the next few chapters. I'm not overly proud of this chapter. I've started the next few, but I'm not sure about how I want to write the ending. I have a few ideas for the next installment of this, thanks to Hecate in the Maribat discord server.
> 
> To get back on topic, This chapter will cover the concert, the next one covers them going to Paris, and the one after that should have them hanging out in the city, and then they'll head back. I'm also going to try to update The Sword and The Sweets today, so that'll be up in a bit. Thanks for reading!

It had been about a month since the attack, and summer was almost over.

Marinette was starting to get déjà vu. Once again, she was a gopher, running around doing things last minute.

She tossed a water bottle to Penny, and handed Jagged his new jacket.

"One hour till showtime! One hour!" The stage manager cried.

Penny saw the look on Marinette's face and gave her a reprieve. "Marinette, why don't you text Damian? I think we have everything, so here are their passes and tickets, you can sit with them."

"But Aunt Penny, I have to help-"

The woman gave her a firm look. "You have been a great help just by doing what you've done. Now, I want you out there greeting your boyfriend. If I need you, I'll text." She started lightly pushing the girl out of the room.

"Okay, okay! Bye Uncle Jagged! See you in a bit!"

"Bye Marinette!"

As soon as the door closed, the young designer took a deep breath. First things first, text Damian.

MDC: How far out are you? Aunt Penny gave me the tickets for your family.

DW: We should be there in about five minutes. Which entrance?

MDC: The side.

She put her phone back in her purse and checked over her outfit for the fourth time that day. She couldn't wait for Damian to see it. She was wearing a Robin-themed outfit. It featured a deep red t-shirt dress with the logo embroidered on the corner, dark green leggings, yellow converse sneakers, and fishnet gloves. Her makeup and hair were also slightly different. She had done a light smokey eye, and a cherry lip gloss, with her hair in space buns.

Her phone pinged.

DW: The car is around the corner.

MDC: I think I see you!

The car parked, and the group filed out, with Tim scrambling out first. She prepared to cringe, but relaxed when she saw that most of them were dressed simply in graphic tees and denim.

She knew the moment Damian noticed her outfit, because his mouth opened, and then snapped shut.

"Angel, are you wearing my colors?"

She grinned slyly. "Maybe."

"Well I love it. I'm happy to see you, but I thought you said you'd be working the show?"

She rolled her eyes as the rest of the group came over. "I was supposed to be, but Penny kicked me out of the back room. Here are the tickets."

Everyone gave her hugs, or eager thanks, but Tim squeezed the hardest. "Thank you Marinette! You're the best!"

She giggled at his eager face and pulled something out of her purse for him. His eyes bulged when he saw it. He spoke slowly. "Marinette, is that what I think it is?"

"Yup!"

"How did you get Jagged Stone's guitar pick?!"

She gave him a deadpan look. He backpedalled. "Ok, I know how, but, still!"

She held up the two fingers not holding the pick. "One, for such a stoic vigilante, you sure are excitable. And two, it's now your guitar pick."

If even possible, his eyes bulged even further. "Oh my gosh Marinette! I love you so much right now! You don't even know!" As he started babbling, he lifted her off the ground and began to carry her inside as the others filmed, bone more than Damian, who was collecting blackmail.

"T-Tim! Put me down!"

"Fine. But still! Thank you so much!"

"Tim, it's really not that big of a deal to me. I asked, and he gave it."

The rest of the group walked up. "Could you stop trying to steal my girlfriend Drake?"

His brother waved his hand dismissively. "Sure, sure, whatever. We're about to go backtage at a Jagged Stone concert!"

Damian rolled his eyes at his brother's antics, but when he looked back at the others, only Bruce, Selina, and Alfred weren't showing some form of fanboying. Ugh.

When they reached the door, the guard let them in after they showed their passes.

Marinette led the group inside, and as they reached the hallway closest to the stage, they heard an explosion of noise.

"We need the lights!"

"Get that guitar onstage, now!"

"Mr. Stone needs water!"

Just then Marinette's phone vibrated against her thigh.

Aunt Penny: Marinette are they here yet?

Marinette: Yes, we're almost at the green room.

Aunt Penny: Jagged's having a wardrobe malfunction.

Marinette: Merde. Be right there.

Damian's head snapped to the place Marinette had just run from.

Where did she go?

After about thirty seconds of questioning, the group decided to ask an employee.

Dick tapped a young woman on the shoulder. "Excuse me Miss, but my family and I were looking for the green room? Our guide ran off."

After checking their passes, the woman brightened. "Oh! You must be Marinette's guests! Mrs. Stone told us about you. Here, let me show you the way."

Dick looked at Bruce. What? 

As the family started walking, Jason grabbed Tim, who had begun to wander off.

The green room was bustling with activity. But as soon as they opened the door, they heard Marinette's voice clear as day. "Uncle Jagged, why didn't you just let me make you pants?"

"You were doing more than enough with just the jacket!"

Marinette was sitting on a couch, and appeared to be sewing a pair of pants together?

Bruce called out. "Marinette?"

As she looked to the voice, she paled. "Merde! I'm so sorry Bruce! I was supposed to give your tour!"

Damian gave her reassurances, while Tim rushed over to thank Jagged for the guitar pick, and the others went to talk with him and Penny. "Angel, it's fine. We were just wondering where you were. What are you doing?"

"Uncle Jagged didn't notice that the seam was ripped on these pants, and now I'm fixing them."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No, just you being here is enough." She leaned into his side as the fixed the seam.

She had it finished within a few minutes."There! I don't know why he didn't just ask me to make his pants."

He snickered at the put-out expression she wore. "Well, you did say it was more of a vacation.."

"Still! But anyway, here's the green room!" She did tired jazz-hands. 

As the group talked, an intern ran in. "Mister Stone! The show is starting in ten minutes! We need you backstage."

He got up, giving Penny a quick kiss, and grabbing the pants from Marinette. "Got to go. I'll talk to you later, kiddo. Marinette can give you my number." He winked and walked out.

Tim appeared to have stopped breathing. Jason waved a hand in front of his face.

"Replacement? Replacement?" He finally thumped his head, and Tim shook his head to knock his thoughts back in place.

"What?"

"Let's go." He waved an arm to show that everyone else was walking out. Tim jumped up and they caught up as they headed inside the main room.

Marinette was waving them over from the front. "C'mon! We're over here."

The concert was fun for everyone. Even Alfred seemed to have fun, but he didn't show it, except for a twitching of his lips every so often.

As they filed back out after everything, Marinette handed Tim a slip of paper with a number, and he cocked his head with a raised eyebrow.

"It's his number. You wanted it, right? Or should I take it back?" She gave a teasing look.

He held it to his chest tightly. "No! I just wasn't sure what it was!"

Damian and his girlfriend hung back. "Father, I will be staying here for a while. I'll be back by 9 for patrol."

"Okay Damian."

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as the car pulled out. He spoke first. "The enrollment is complete, the year starts about a week after Dupont resumes after the break. Damocles wants you to come in on the first day of their year for your paperwork. For some reason he won't send it over." He noticed the resignation in her face, and tried to give another way. "Of course, we could get the information, it just wouldn't be exactly legal, and there could be questions."

She gave him a hug. "Thank you for doing all this Dami. It's not that big of a deal, I can fly out next week, and get my things from my locker as we get the paperwork from Headmaster Damocles. I think I'll try to set it up in the morning so I don't run into as many people."

He put his chin on her head. "You mean we can fly out next week. I'm not sending you to deal with those idiots by yourself."

"But Damian, you probably have to get ready for your school year, and you're Robin, you can't just leave!"

He stepped back and raised a finger. "First of all, unless you truly do not want me there, I'm fairly sure that my brothers can handle me being in Paris for a few days. Even with their incompetence. Plus, if they need help, I can call Jon to cover my route."

She snickered.

"Secondly, I don't even need to go to school,father just wants me to have a degree. I learned most of what they taught me before I was a teenager. There is nothing for me to prepare."

"Lastly, you'll need help to pack up your things."

"Fine. Just, please don't threaten anyone. Kagami already wants to duel you. I don't need anymore of that."

"She did? I think it'll be nice to beat her for your hand."

She groaned theatrically. "Why me?"

"Oh! Nonna will be here next week to get the new apartment set up. So I'll be helping her with that."

"Alright Angel. I have until patrol. What do you want to do?"

"I want to try that shaved ice cart Dick told me about, and then we can hang out until patrol time."

"Sounds good to me."


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make it to Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I start this, I just wanted to say thank you for all the love you guys have given in the comment section! It means a lot.

Marinette had helped her Nonna set up the apartment earlier that day, touching up her own room. Now she was on the Wayne private jet, flying back to Paris to pack up her things and move to America. 

The plane ride was about seven hours, and both were quiet. Damian was reading a book she had recommended to him, while she was working on a design inspired by the clouds they were flying through. 

That got old at hour two. When he finished the book, they discussed it for a bit, but then fell into a sweet silence, only broken by the girl’s humming.

“What are you listening to, Angel?”

She didn’t reply, only handing him an earbud and showing him the title. Some song called Scars to Your Beautiful. It wasn’t bad, but classical was better. After that, they drew for a bit, until Damian decided to go to sleep.

He woke up to his girlfriend telling him that the plane had landed.

As they stepped off the plane and into the airport, Marinette texted her parents again, and Damian texted Bruce to let him know they had arrived safely.

“Marinette!” She saw her mother and father rushing over to them, enveloping her in a hug. “Oh Marinette, you look much happier now.” The woman took a step back and looked at Damian with a warm smile, and eyes to match.

Before he could respond, he felt a sudden warmth surround him, and he stiffened minutely, only to realize that her father had hugged him. When he met Marinette’s eye, she appeared to be stifling a laugh. She pulled her papa off him. “Papa! Let him breathe!”

“Sorry son. It’s nice to meet the young man who has done so much for you.” 

“Maman, Papa, as happy as I am to see you, can we please go home? I miss your cooking.”

“Of course honey. Tom, can you help them with the bags?”

She gestured for Marinette to get Damian, and the group headed back to the bakery.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

When they got into the house, Damian tried to leave, give her time to catch up with her parents, but they insisted he stay for dinner.

The food was amazing, maybe even better than Pennyworth’s. Not that Damian would ever tell him that.

“So Damian, how did you two meet?” Sabine’s eyes were still warm, but had a protective sheen to them.

“Mamaan!”

“It’s fine Angel. I was getting some tea from a coffee shop, and Marinette knocked me over. It actually went quite fast. I knew I was interested when she took down Scarecrow, but it was when she took down my brother that I really wanted to make her my girlfriend.”

Marinette flushed under his loving gaze.

Sabine liked seeing her daughter so happy, but something he said made her pause. “Your.. brother? Marinette, why would you fight his brother?”

“He challenged me, and we sparred after dinner. It wasn’t serious Maman, and no one got hurt. Promise.”

They talked over dinner, mostly probing from Sabine, until Marinette yawned.

Damian’s head snapped to her. “Angel? 

She spoke through another yawn. "Sorry Dami, I'm just tired. Jetlag and all."

"Let me help you with your luggage, and then I'll see you in the morning."

Sabine gave him a look. "Young man, you are not staying in Paris alone. I don't care who you are. You will stay here for tonight, and until you two leave. Marinette, he can share your room."

"Ok Maman!"

"I can't just stay in your room Angel!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's not proper!"

His girlfriend's eyes told him exactly what she thought of that.

He acquiesced. "Alright."

They ended up sharing the bed, as Marinette had gotten rid of the chaise a year prior.

Damian laid in his pajamas, stiff as a board while Marinette cuddled him.

He finally drifted off to the sounds of her peaceful breathing.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

The next morning, Damian woke up slowly, tensing at the warmth next to him. Then it all came back to him.

Oh. I'm at Marinette's house.

He picked up his phone, texting back and forth with Jon for a while, until he deemed it time to get ready for the meeting with Damocles. He began shaking her awake. "Marinette, Angel, you have to get up. Angel?"

After a good five minutes of attempting to wake her, he slumped back. How did she sleep so heavily?

Tikki flew up near his face. He barely controlled a flinch. "Don't worry Damian! She's had trouble waking up since she first got me! Let me show you how to do it." 

She flew next to the sleeping girl's ear, and shouted, "Marinette! You're late for school!"

Out of nowhere, Marinette's eyes flew open. Before Damian could even get a word out, she dashed down the ladder, grabbed some clothes out of her dresser, and raced into the bathroom.

When she ran back out, with a hair tie in her mouth to make a ponytail, she saw Damian sitting on her bed with an amused smile, and Tikki looking smug.

"Tikkiiiii!" She whined.

"I tried to do it softly, but she told me to let her do it."

"Yeah, yeah, just get dressed."

He went through his normal routine before walking downstairs to see what was going on.

He heard multiple voices, and called for Marinette. "Angel?"

"In the kitchen Damian!"

As he reached the bottom of the stairs a blonde head of hair turned to him from the table.. "Oh hey Damian!"

"Good morning Agreste. May I ask why you're in my girlfriend's house?"

"Oh! We heard you two got in last night, and we came over to make sure she woke up on time."

The ex-assassin simply raised a brow.

"I meant how did you get in?"

"Tom let us in."

"I'm assuming the other two are in the kitchen?

"Just Luka. Kagami had fencing. And Damian.." Here the sunny smile sharpened, looking almost feral. The whole room seemed to darken. "If you hurt her, I hurt you.” His smile returned to normal. “Have a good morning!"

Damian was mildly unsettled at the mood change, but he didn't let it show. He lived with Batman. A little threat wouldn't scare him.

"That's fair."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna give apologies to all my readers. I just read through this fic, and I'm sorry. The grammar was awful and it wasn't consistent at all.
> 
> Sorry!

Damian and Marinette were on their way into Dupont with Adrien, though he didn't come in. The boy had a photoshoot that morning, so he just walked them to the doors.

They stopped by the locker room first, gathering what little was left of Marinette's things in a large tote bag. It went fairly quickly, but on the way out of the lockers, they ran into Lila.

Why she was there, they didn't know, but Marinette was done. She spoke irritatedly. "What do you want, Lila? I don't have time for you and your lies. Move."

"Marinette, who's this?" The Italian asked in a sugary tone.

"I'm her boyfriend. We have business to attend to. Move out of our way."

"It's nice to meet you! Just a warning, be careful around Marinette. She's been bullying me since I got here! It's been four years, and she still won't leave me alone!" Her eyes started to water.

"Stop lying, you harlot!" He hissed out. "My girlfriend is no bully. Is the very, very small brain in your head a placeholder? Yes?" He sneered. "I don't wish to contract stupid, and you obviously have it. Let's go Angel."

As soon as they rounded the corner, Marinette started snickering at him. "Harlot? Really Damian? Whe- where did you even get that from?"

"My grandfather." He glared at her, but it had no effect, only increasing her laughter.

She slowly calmed down, trying not to look at him in fear it would start again. "Let's just go to the office before I start laughing again."

"Yes, let's."

<><><><><><><><><>

"Mr. Damocles, I just want my records."

"Give her the papers Damocles. You have no right to them."

"Mr. Wayne, if you could just understand.."

"Understand what? That you let the students bully my girlfriend to the point of transfer? That you wrongfully expelled her?"

"The expulsion was long ago. It was a mistake, and taken off of the record."

"This school did not follow any sort of procedure for that, and even if it was taken off, what happened to the cameras I've seen around the school? Are they for show?"

The headmaster's eyes widened.

"Give. Us. The. Records." Damian let some of his rage seep into his eyes. He looked almost feral.

"Yes yes! Here they are!"

As the two walked out, Marinette shot the man a sunny grin. "Have a good day Mr. Damocles!"

Ms. Bustier was pulled aside before class started. "Marinette's gone? Oh dear, I thought she was getting better. I suppose I was wrong."

She walked in as the bell ring. "Class, I have an announcement. I'm afraid that as of this morning, Marinette no longer attends Collegé François Dupont."

The whole room erupted into exclamation.

"Why would she do that?"

"What happened?"

Lila saw an opportunity. "Oh no, I bet it was that boyfriend of hers! He probably made her transfer! I'm so sorry I didn't stop her. This is all my fault!" She started to cry.

"Don't worry Lila!"

"It's okay!"

"It's not your fault girl! You didn't know. Wait- what boyfriend?"

The girl covered her mouth and mimed a sob to hide her smirk. "He had dark hair and green eyes! And he insulted me for no reason!"

"That's so mean!"

Ms. Bustier wanted to know what happened. "Lila, can you walk us through what happened?"

"Well- Well, I got here early today. I wanted to be early on the first day back. So I went to the locker room, to put some books away, but I ran into Marinette and her boyfriend! They were so mean!" She burst out cry new crocodile tears.

The whole class moved to comfort her.

A loud slamming sound made the class turn to the front. Ms. Bustier picked back up her textbook. "I know you all just got back from the break, and you want to talk to your friends, but it's time for class. Get out your history books." 

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Back in her room, Marinette was having trouble.

"I don't know what to take!"

Damian took a deep breath. He passed her a notebook. "Wrote down everything you use daily. Tikki, can you check it?"

He waited a few minutes. "I did it."

"Now pack up everything on that list. You can get new furniture in Gotham, and you might wish to leave some of your things here for visits. You'll want to take those photos, and some of your other decorations, but you'll probably want to get things that will fit with your new room."

"Oh, that's a good point. I'm putting on music. Can you go downstairs and ask Maman for some cleaning stuff? Thanks Dami."

When Damian returns to her room, he sees Marinette unplugging her computer and putting it in a box, as she sings along to the music.

That's the price you pay  
Leave behind your heartache, cast away  
Just another product of today  
Rather be the hunter than the prey  
And you're standing on the edge, face up 'cause you're a natural

She starts taking down the pictures on her wall and placing them in a folder.

A beating heart of stone  
You gotta be so cold  
To make it in this world  
Yeah, you're a natural  
Living your life cutthroat  
You gotta be so cold  
Yeah, you're a natural

Marinette sings to the end of the song, letting the album play as she grabs the cleaning spray from him and starts on the room. By two o' clock, she and Damian have managed to get her things packed and her room cleaned.

Marinette and Damian are laying on her bed, both on their phones. All of a sudden, Marinette bolts into a sitting position. "Damian!"

He jumps up, pulling a knife out of the back of his shirt. "What happened?"

"We should go to Andre's!"

His shoulders slump, relieved there's no danger. "Why? You don't even get to choose which flavors you want."

"It's romantic! And it's hot out."

"Fine."

"Blackberry and lemon for the two of you! And may your love always shine true!"

"Thanks André!" She grabbed the cone, and the two walked to a nearby bench.

"Let's see what's so special about this ice cream." He took a small swipe off the side. "It tastes like normal ice cream."

"It's not about the flavor! It's about the magic!"

He raised a brow.

She snorted. "You, of all people are ruling out something because it sounds too crazy?"

"Fair point."

As the two finished the ice cream cone, they start walking to the café Adrien agreed to meet them at. 

Adrien walked in a few minutes after they had gotten settled. "Thank God for Nathalie. I'm free for the rest of the day!"

"Good. You deserve it."

They ordered drinks and then started up a conversation. "So Adrien, how did the class take it?"

He groaned. "Horribly! They were still whispering about it when I came in! I know you guys drifted apart, but Lila is totally taking advantage of all this."

Marinette rolled her eyes. Of course she would.

Damian spoke up. "What is Rossi saying?"

"That you must have made Marinette transfer, and that you insulted her for no reason. You two saw her?"

"Yeah, she tried to tell him that I was a bully, and he should be careful around me." She snorted. "The usual." Her face broke out into a grin. "Damian actually did insult her though. Dami, what was the word you called her?"

"I don't see what's so funny about the word harlot."

"Dude, where did you even learn that? It's so old."

"From my grandfather. It's not that outdated."

"Suuure."

<><><><><><><><><><>

After tearful goodbyes at the airport, Marinette and Damian were on their way back to Gotham City.

When they landed, Alfred picked them up and drove then to her new apartment. It honestly didn't take long to unpack what she did bring with her. Thankfully she had already bought a dresser, or she wouldn't be able to put away anything.

After she did that, Alfred offered to drive them to pick out new furniture.

In two hours, she and Damian had managed to buy her bed, nightstands, and a new chaise. Along with a desk, and a red chair to go with it. Instead of pink, her color scheme now leaned more toward red and black.

Tommorow was the first day of school.

She could do this.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me through this.

Now she was standing in front of her new mirror, in a new room, in a new city, in a whole new country. She took a deep breath and began putting her hair into a messy bun. The uniforms were ugly, but she'd make do.

She put on her purse, then put in the small bags of sugar cubes and cookies for her kwamis.

Then she ran down the steps to meet her Nonna. Damian had wanted to take her school, but Gina had refused. She wanted to take her 'leetle fairy' to school.

For once in her life, Marinette arrived on time for class. She saw Damian standing outside waiting for her.

She walked over. "Hey Dami!" She kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey Angel." A few students gaped, but were turned away by Damian's frosty glare.

The bell rang. "Come Angel, let's not be late on the first day."

He showed her to Homeroom and Literature, but after that he had Physics, but she had Anatomy. 

So they split up.

She decided to keep her head down. Her plan was to get a nice seat in the back, so she could maybe draw if she got stuck. Her English was good, but not to the point where she didn't need help at times. Of course Damian had offered to tutor her.

She was lost in thought by the time she arrived at class. And of course there were no seats in the back. So she picked one in between a nice looking blonde girl, and a brown-haired boy that seemed to be making bad jokes?

She sat down and pulled out her notebook, and two pencils. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

It was the brown-haired boy. He gave her a wide grin. "Hi! I'm Claude, and this is Allegra!" He made a gesture toward the blonde girl, who gave an awkward wave. "Are you new?"

"Yes I am. How'd you know?"

"I'm pretty sure I'd notice someone as beautiful as you around these halls." She was about to say something, but then registered his Chat Noir-like grin and Allegra rolling her eyes next to her.

"Please ignore him. His last brain cell died off during the summer."

She snorted. "It's nice to meet you two, but I'd be careful. I can tell you're joking. I used to have a friend like you." She winced thinking of the ways that Damian would react to the situation. "You might not want to do that around my boyfriend though. He's very protective."

"Good to know." He gave her a wink.

They chatted for a few minutes before Allegra invited her to have lunch with them. She was about to reject the invitation, when Claude piped up. "Your boyfriend can sit with us too!"

She shrugged. Why not? "Sure. I'll text him after class."

She made it uneventfully through the first half of the day. When lunchtime came, Damian was waiting for her outside the cafeteria. "Hey Angel. Did you get your lunch?"

She smiled at him as they started walking. It was nice to switch back to French. "Yep! I grabbed mine out of my locker before last period. Thank Kwami for Claude and Allegra, or I'd never have found them."

"I can't believe you made friends on your first day. I've been at this school since I came to live with Father, and I have not made a single friendly aquaintance."

"Maybe that's got something to do with the fact that you still call your brothers by their last names? Plus you kind of give off 'I want to kill you' vibes."

She saw Claude waving to her from a table off to the side. She waved back and dragged Damian over to the table.

"Hey Claude! Hey Allegra! She gave a smile to the other two. "You must be Allan and Felix? It's nice to meet you!"

After introductions, Claude and Allegra noticed Damian. Claude looked at her in awe, along with Allegra. "Your boyfriend is Damian Wayne? The Ice Prince?"

"Yeah? Wait, the Ice Prince?" She turned to Damian with a raised brow.

He raised it right back. "Did you expect anything less?"

"Honestly? No. But I had hope. Hope Damian. And you crushed it." She gave him a feigned hurt look.

He snorted, and she turned back to the others at the table. Striking up a conversation with Félix about his book, the other three were left to stare.

"Did he just laugh?"

"I most certainly did not. You can stop staring now." 

Allegra looked between the couple for a few moments before recognition flashed in her eyes. "Marinette! You're the girl from the Gala! I totally forgot about that."

Claude looked enlightened. "So that's where I recognized you from!"

Felix looked indifferent, Claude and Allegra looked excited, though Allegra was milder, and Allan was simply eating his sandwich.

"Yes, she is MDC. Anything wrong with that?" Damian asked irritably.

Claude looked like a confused puppy. "No? Why would there be? Marinette, your stuff is awesome! I was at the Jagged Stone concert this summer, and he mentioned you made his outfit! That's so cool!"

"Thanks Claude!"

"So how come you didn't mention designing earlier? I could imagine not saying who you were, but you didn't even mention it." Allegra asked.

"I'm not sure? I just didn't think to."

He shrugged. "Anyway, what did you guys think of the new Avengers movie?"

"It was adequate. The fight scenes were clearly fake."

"Well I thought it was good, but kinda sad. I wonder what Peter's going to do now?"

The conversation started, a bit stilted in Damian's end, and Felix was interjecting every once in a while, but it was a fun lunch overall.

Marinette had new friends, a new boyfriend, and a new life.

She would be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of part one! 
> 
> I've listened to the people, and the majority of you want a sequel, so that's coming. I'm not sure when, as I want to focus on my other stories for a bit. But it's coming.
> 
> Hopefully that one'll be more accurate to DC. I only just started that fandom, so my information is probably not all correct.
> 
> Love you guys!


	20. Author's Note

To my readers, I know I said we'd be getting a sequel for this, but it's going to be a while. I don't really like the way I wrote this? I wanna make the characters less ooc, but I also don't wanna rewrite the whole story. 

I made a promise, and I will be keeping it, but even while I was deciding whether or not to keep it, I did say that the sequel would be fluff with no plot, so that's what it'll be. 

I haven't forgotten about this stuff, but I've been reading more than writing. For inspiration. Definitely.

Anyway, the only consolation I have for my Maribat fans is that I'm very slowly writing a oneshot prequel for Side Effects. You guys loved that! For my DC fans, I have a Tim oneshot coming out in a few. Also, if you want good recs, check out my bookmarks tag! Most of what's at the beginning is Marvel fics, but it's been primarily DC since October.

Love y'all!

~Kore~

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Okay, so some of you have noticed that I didn't do paragraph breaks in between the dialogue lines, which I have just visited. At first, I just didn't care, and wanted to post something, and then a friend pointed it out, so I left it in to spite her. Sorry! But it's fixed now. I also extended the chapter a bit! Also, if you see any inconsistencies or errors, please point them out and I will try my best to change them. I do my best!


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